How Do You Feel?
by ck3712
Summary: Sequal to 'Helga's Big Secret'. Two weeks have passed since Helga confessed her love to Arnold. She is no longer known as a bully and she and Arnold are great friends. But what will happen after hanging with Helga for a few hours? Read to find out!
1. A Good Mood

**Hello and Happy New Year everyone! Finally, the sequal is here! Yay! WOoOoOoOoOo! Wah!(swings arms around wildly.)**

**That's right! This is the first chapter of the sequal to 'Helga's Big Secret'. I finally came up with a name! And this time, I'm talking about the name of the story. So tell me what you think of the name!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: ME NO OWNY HEY ARNOLD! SO STOP HARRASSING ME! WAAAAAAAH!**

Helga's eyes fluttered open, and as soon as she realized that she was awake, the line if her mouth formed into a smile. She was happy. She smiled as she got dressed. She smiled as she ate her granola bar for breakfast. She even smiled when her dad called her 'Olga'. She couldn't help it. This was a very exciting day for her. For that, she was positively glowing.

Arnold was about to take a step on the bus when Helga showed up, running down the sidewalk as fast as her little legs would allow. As he continued his way up the steps, he half expected her to push him out of her way and call him 'geekbait' when...

...nothing. She didn't do anything. He didn't feel anyone shove him out of their way. He looked behind him to find her politely waiting for him to board the bus and take his seat. He was surprised. He thought Helga was mean. Plus, she _hated_ mornings. He thought he'd never see the day when Helga would stop and wait for him to get on.

Then again, he did kind of see it coming. Ever since she confessed her love to him, she has been keeping to her word and being kinder, more curtious to people. Not only to him, but to everyone she's ever met. She's really improving. He was proud of her. He mentally smiled.

He turned his head back around and continued up the steps and to his seat.

Helga, still beaming with delight, followed up the steps and proceded to the open seat next to Phoebe.

"Morning, Helga." Phoebe greeted.

"Good morning, Phoebe!" She replied, delightedly swinging her legs back and forth.

Phoebe noticed the cheerful tone in Helga's voice. She glanced back at her. Helga was smiling, face front, legs still swinging back and forth under the seat. Phoebe smiled and turned her head back toward the window. Helga has made loads of progress in the past two weeks. She has been increasingly kind to everyone, she never grumbles under her breath anymore, and she has apologized to just about everyone who she has hurt as many times she has hurt had to hand it to her, Phoebe was quite impressed.

Just one more person to apologize to and her slate will be comepletely clean by the end of the day. Bad news; it's Arnold. Arnold, the one who holds the key to her heart. The one who she holds nearest and dearest to her. The one who she couldn't bear to harm in any way. The one who has helped her through so many things.

The one who is actually her friend, other than Phoebe, of course.

She looked back to Helga again and saw her chatting with the others about, well, anything that came up, really. She looked at the other kids faces and saw not fear, but enjoyment. They were happy to be in Helga's company. She looked to the window once again in thought.

_I did a good job. By the end of today, her social schooling will be comeplete. Then she won't need me to guide her as her training wheels._

Helga felt great. She was very excited. Her slate was finally going to be clear today. At first, it was really difficult to be nice to everyone, but then she got used to it and the kindness became a new habit. This time, it's a good one, because it helped her to get along with the others, as well as squeeze her old habits out of her actions, and just about out of her mind.

She just had to apologize to one more person; Arnold. She has no idea as to why she put his overdue apologies off for so long. She loved him, didn't she? Then why didn't she give apologies to him first?

Then she realized. Everyone else thought she hated him. That's why. She wasn't ready for them to know about her love for him. Not yet. She didn't want it to be too obvious too early. She would have been humiliated. She's still not ready for them to know yet. She figured the best time for them to know is when she and Arnold actually get into dating. If they get into dating. She can't assume it'll happen quite yet. Though they were friends, neither have publicized their newfound friendship yet. She figured she oughta wait until she has delivered all her apologies to him. That day will be today.

She smiled once more.

The bus came to a stop. The doors opened. The kids filed out. Everyone arrived on time.

All except for Curly, who swung in later through an open window from a tree limb. Probably another of his crazy schemes no one else cares about. Nobody, not even Helga, bothered to insult him. Partly because he insulted himself. Partly because they were informed, when Curly first showed up at school, to be extremely careful as to how they speak or act to and around him, otherwise he might attack. This warning was a required request from his mental doctor. Otherwise, he might snap and they'll have to send him to the psych ward in a straight jacket. They all remember what happened when Mr. Simmons skipped his name on the list for ball keeper of the week. He went absolutely berzerk! Locked himself in the pricipal's office and threw kickballs at everyone through the window above the door, hard. Some people were sore for weeks after that. So everyone just aggrees to leave him alone. He's too messed up to safely tease him and walk away.

So everyone's seated when Mr. Simmons walked in.

"Okay. So, uh, good morning, class. It's so nice to see everyone here today. Wait, where's-"

"Ah, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Swung in Curly with a maniacaly crazy scream, landing on his feet.

He turned around, shook his fist out the window as he shouted, "You can't get me now, you cowards! Ha ha ha ha ha!" shut the window, and instantaniously appeared perfectly sane as he turned and proceded to his seat.

Mr. Simmons hesitated before clearing his throat.

"Uh, C-Curly, it's nice to see you're here today, but I'm afraid that you arrived late again. I'll need to ask you to go to the main office for a tardy slip."

Curly stood up, pulled something out of his belt, and handed it to him.

"Normally, I would strongly object to such a request, Mr. Simmons. Not today. Today, my mom actually is the one at fault for my tardiness." He said as Mr. Simmons recieved the note from his fingers.

He unfolded the note and read it over carefully.

"Okay. Take a seat, Curly. Looks like this note checks out."

Curly took a seat as he said, "My pleasure, Mr. Simmons."

Class went just smoothly after that. Helga didn't throw any spitballs. Instead she took notes and actually followed along. Somehow it's become a habit now. Two weeks ago she was baffled that she'd gotten this far in school, but now, she knows she's gonna make it through to high school. It's amazing how fast this has gone.

She gave in a hint of a smile as she took notes. Arnold noticed it, he just was so used to it he didn't feel the need to look back to know it was Helga taking notes. He looked back to her anyway and smiled. He then turned back to refocus on his notes.

As Arnold chatted with Gerald in the lunch line, he bumped into Helga, causing her to lean into her tray, leaving a green stain on her dress as the jell-o cup hit the floor.

"I'm so sorry, Helga." He said with an apologetic expression on his face.

He hadn't run into her in the lunch line like that since the day she confessed her love to him. He had no idea as to how she would react now. Will she continue her renewal cycle and accept his apology? Or will she revert back to square one and call him a football head in her old bully-like ways?

Willing to take the risk, he set his tray on the tray ledge and kneeled down with his napkin, scooping the green gelatan into the cup to throw it away.

"Here, let me help." He said as he did so.

She hesitated in thought of how to react, then quickly snapped out of her daze as she went to grab a napkin from the holster on top of the sneezeguard.

She briefly wiped any access jell-o from the stain, then threw it away and helped Arnold clean up what was meant to be her lunch.

They picked up every piece of food they could find on that floor. The sandwich, the apple, the many scattered french fries, every last bit.

When Arnold reached for the carton of chocolate milk, his hand momentarily touched Helga's as he realized she was reaching for it as well. They both pulled their hands back, startled by the sudden skin contact, and blushed faintly enough for no one to notice.

"Oh, sorry." Arnold said, glancing breifly at Helga before looking at the floor.

"No, it's okay." she replied, doing the same.

In that brief moment of glance, somehow Arnold got lost in Helga's eyes.

When he lowered his eyes from her gaze, he thought, _How did that happen?_

It gave him a sudden spark of feeling inside him, and the strangest thing is, it was familiar. He didn't quite know why, or where from. This was Helga G Pataki for crying out loud! Okay, so she wasn't the ugliest girl in school, but she wasn't exactly miss flawless, either. And yet, he got lost in her eyes!

He gestured to the carton. "You take it." He said to Helga. "It's your milk."

"No thanks." She replied with a hand gesture. "You can take it."

Still more surprised, comepletely baffled by the whole situation, he hesitated, then slowly stretched his hand out to the carton of milk.

Then he set it on her tray, along with the other food previously scattered on the floor, and headed to the trash with it.

As he was about to dump the tray, Helga stopped him, grabbed the milk, and motioned for him to continue.

"No point in wasting good milk." She reasoned. "It's not busted, so I'm taking it."

She quickly grabbed a second tray to replace the first. Then she grabbed her jell-o cup and her french fries and started out to the tables. Before she passed the wall, she paused, turned around and said, "Thanks for helping me clean up, Arnold." with a soft voice and a sweet smile, before she continued to her table.

"No problem." He replied, though he knew that she didn't hear him.

That was the weirdest moment of his life.

**Yay! I hope you enjoyed the first chappie of this sequal!**

**Thank you to all who have voted for this part of the story! It was a tough decision, so thank you all!**

**You should know me by now, but I just have to say it!**

**REVIEW!**


	2. The Final Apology

**Hello readers of this story!**

**Yeah, I'm kinda not in the best mood today. But I'll get over it! I always do! Well, kinda.**

**I don't have much to say. Um. That's right, um! Can't I make my sentences short and stupid sometimes! Well, too bad! I did it anyways! So there!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold, so buzz off!**

**I told you I wasn't in a good mood today. But you didn't listen, now, did you?**

**Well, enjoy!**

When Helga watched as Arnold and Gerald sit at their usual table, she heard Phoebe talking to her, though she wasn't paying attention to what she was saying.

"Helga!" She shouted in her ear, starling her out of her gaze.

"What? What?...Oh, sorry Phoebe. What were you saying?" She said in response.

"I was asking you what you're gonna do today." Phoebe repeated herself.

Helga looked back to Arnold chatting with Gerald, then said, "I'm gonna go talk to Arnold, okay?"

"Okay." Phoebe simply replied with a smile.

Helga knew she had to do this. This was the only way she could put all her actions behind her. The only way she knew how to make amends with the football-headed love of her life. She had to do this. She just had to.

Taking a deep breath, Helga stood from her seat and made her way to Arnold's table.

Gerald suddenly felt a tap against his table. He turned his head up to see Helga.

Noticing this upward turn, she asked, "Can I talk to Arnold alone for a minute?"

Gerald was somewhat surprised, but understood. He got up and went over to sit down with Phoebe.

Helga sat down in the chair Gerald had just vacated. Luckily, no one else sits at this table, so she just had to make sure she was quiet enough so none of the other tables could hear. That was good, because everyone else in the lunchroom were being so noisy that she could talk in her average sincerity tone.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about, Helga?" Arnold asked without a clue.

"I," She started rubbing the back of her neck, not knowing how to say what she wanted to say. _Dang it!_ She thought. _Why do I always choke up when I'm trying to tell him something?_

Finally, she continued. "I'm so sorry. For everything."

Arnold looked at the details in her expression. She looked somewhat defeated, now looking down at her fiddling hands. He was confused.

"What are you talking about?" He replied.

She looked at him again, this time with a more sorrowful expression. "I'm talking about the constant torture I put you through over the years. The spitballs. The practical jokes. The various namecalling. The mistreatment."

She paused. Then continued. "All of it. None of it was ment to hurt you. Only to conseal my true feelings from you."

She looked down at her fiddling fingers again. "But now that you know, there's no point in teasing you anymore."

She looked to him again, her face more calm and hopeful now. "I, I wanna start a clean slate. And I can't do that unless I know you'll forgive me."

She glanced down, then she looked at him shyly, in a way that Cecile did, with her hand held out to him.

"So, canwe start over? Forget about past memories?"

He looked at her, then smiled and grabbed her hand. "Just the bad ones, right?" He realized there were some good moments between him and Helga, and he didn't want to let those memories slip.

They shook hands. She gave a small giggle, then smiled. "Yeah, we can hold on to the good ones."

They gave their hands one final shake, then released each other from their grasp. "Sounds good, Helga. I'm so glad you decided to talk to me."

"Me too. Maybe we can hang out sometime. Get to know each other a little better. You know, as friends."

He smiled at her. "Yeah, Okay. Meet me by the old oak tree in the park after school. Bring a glove. We'll play catch and talk. That sound cool?"

"Sure." She said as she stood from the seat. "That sounds fun. See you then, Arnold." She waved as she walked back to her own table.

She was so happy she got that off of her chest. Finally, she's free from violent image. Now she can build herself a new one. A better one.

Plus, she gets to hang out with Arnold at the park after school today. How exciting! She could hardly wait. She will definately bring her glove. And her love, if needed.

Meanwhile, Phoebe and Gerald were talking at the other table.

As Gerald was chatting away, Phoebe pointed to the figure shadowing above Gerald. He looked up. It was Helga once again.

"You can go back to your table now, Gerald." She said in a kind, relaxed tone.

"Thanks." He replied as he stood from the chair.

When Gerald reclaimed his origional seat next to Arnold, he asked, "So, what did Helga want to talk to you about?"

Arnold was looking straight ahead into space, his face giving a blank expression. "She apologized." He said evenly.

Gerald was a little confused at his best friend's reply. His eyebrow lowered in confusion. "For what?"

Arnold smiled at Gerald. "Everything." He said simply.

**So, what did you think? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! I wanna know! Tell me or else!**

**Other guy: Or else what?**

**Me: Or else I'll pound you.**

**Other guy: Oh, yeah? You and what army?**

**Me: I think ol' Betsy and I can take care of you. (holds up left fist)**

**Other guy: Oh, really? Well, I'd like to see that!**

**Me: Oh, would you now?**

**Other guy: Yeah, I would!**

**Me: (starts to swing left fist at other guy)**

**Other guy: (flinches backward)**

**Me: (psychs the swing) Heh. Yeah, I thought so.**

**Yes, I'm still not in a good mood today. Thank you to all, who reviewed so far! Keep it up!**

**I know I'm slacking in Helga's Fantasy Becomes Reality, but I'm kinda stuck right now in that story. I'm sorry.**

**I'm also sorry for the short chapter. I don't have a whole lot to add to it. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!**

**You know I must, so here it is.**

**REVIEW!**


	3. A Fresh Start

**Hi fanfiction buddies!**

**I hope you're all liking the fic so far! Well, ghdfifgnhdfkgnd! Haha! Random letters!**

**I call this chapter, 'A Fresh Start'. Thanks, Anonymous Latina! You're a big help in this title!**

**Disclaimer: Can I stop saying it now? Ugh. Fine. I don't own Hey Arnold. Am I done now?**

**Enjoy!**

"Huh?" That just made Gerald more confused.

Arnold began to explain. "You know all the spitballs, the insults, the constant scowl directed at me, the calling me 'football head' every time she's done over the years? That's what I mean by 'everything'. She's turning a new leaf. She really doesn't wanna be a bully anymore. She wants to be friends."

Gerald finally seemed to get it. He put his hands on his hips. "I take it she's been keeping to her word?"

Arnold looked down and nodded. "Yeah, she has. You mean you haven't noticed yet?"

Then Gerald looked down in thought. "Well, now that I think about it, I do recall her apologizing to me last week. I guess she really does wanna change. Either that or she got hit upside the head too hard."

Arnold looked back up to his best friend. "Well, I'm gonna play catch with her in the park after school. You wanna come play with us? We're gonna talk and play."

"About what?"

"I don't know. Whatever comes up, I guess."

Gerald thought about it. "Sure. Where at?"

"By the old oak tree in the park. Remember to bring your glove."

"Sounds cool." Gerald said as the bell wrang, ending lunch. They stood up and threw their lunch trays away.

"So what did you talk to Arnold about?" Phoebe asked.

"I finally apologized to him for everything!" Helga said excitedly.

"That's great! What did he say?"

"We're gonna play catch in the park after school in the park. It'll be a talk-n-play. Wanna come?"

"Sure. Where shall we meet?"

"At the old oak tree in the park. I'll bring an extra glove for you."

"Thanks!"The bell wrang, ending lunch. They got up, threw away their lunch trays, and headed off to class.

Helga thought she should tell Arnold that she invited Phoebe to play with them. As she was sitting down, she figured, _Nah. I'll wait til' recess._

Arnold also decided to wait until recess to tell Helga about inviting Gerald to play. So they waited. Class started, and they waited. Mr. Simmons started reading another poem by Anonymous, and they waited. Helga didn't even sink in her chair this time. She just, sat there. Concentrating, watching the clock as time ticks on by. As did Arnold. They took notes still, but they set a mental clock in perfect sync to the second to the clock mounted on the classroom wall. Tick tock. Tick tock. They wait. Tick tock. Tick tock.

Finally, as Mr. Simmons was writing examples of different adverbs on the board, the bell wrang, signaling recess. As they made their way to the schoolyard, Arnold thought, _What if she gets angry that I invited someone else to play with us? _But then he reminded himself, _no. I have to tell her. I can't be dishonest. I just can't._

He turns his head to find Helga coming toward him. _Here goes._

"Arnold!" She called out.

"Hey Helga." He greeted. "I-"

She quickly interrupted. "I hope it's okay if I invited Phoebe to play with us after school. Is that alright with you, Arnold?"

_Okay, maybe she won't be angry. She invited her friend, after all. Why would she be mad if I invited mine? _He felt a wash of relief over him. Though he still wasn't sure. She may be kind, but is very fragile. Despite her rapid progression, she could set off at any moment. That part of her always seemed interesting to him for some reason.

"Uh, Arnold? Arnold?" She kept saying as she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Hey Arnold!" She finally raised her voice at him.

He blinked out of his thoughts. "Huh? What?"

"Sorry I yelled at you, but you kept staring at me. I had to snap you out of it. Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm alright."

He then remembered what she had told him earlier. "It's fine so long as you don't mind that I invited Gerald to come play, too."

She realized Arnold had switched back to the subject at hand. She wanted to snap at him, but decided against it. "Yeah, that's fine. Hey, what's up with those two, anyway?"

Arnold was confused at what she was trying to get at. "What do you mean?"

"They've been acting weird lately. They're always doing stuff together."

"Well, they are friends."

"I mean, they seem to be acting like they're more than friends. They hold hands sometimes. They keep looking at each other. And they smile too much! I mean, look at them!"

She gestured her hands toward Gerald pushing Phoebe on the swing, smiling all the while. Arnold was beginning to understand what Helga was talking about.

She continued. "Notice how they look at each other. They're smiling! And notice their eyes. They're half lidded!"

Arnold knew what was going on between Phoebe and Gerald for about a week now, but he promised to keep it secret. So he had to make it look like he had no idea what was going on.

"But Helga, that could mean anything!" He fake argued.

"Oh, please, Arnold! You give that same look when you notice someone you like. I give that same look when I, uh, notice you sometimes, before I smack it off before you notice, of course. I know that look! If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were into each other."

"Really?"

"Yeah. In fact, you were giving me the same look when you were staring at me just before."

That rendered Arnold speechless. He didn't know what to say. That's the second time he's done that today! What has gotten into him? Oh, well.

Arnold shook his head and said, "Well, then. I think you've just cracked the mystery, Helga."

Helga looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Arnold gave her a knowing look.

Then her eyes widened. "You mean,"

"That's right." Then he quickly added, "Don't tell anyone, though. It's supposed to be a secret."

"Don't worry. If I can keep my love for you a secret for six years, then this shoud be a piece of cake." She snapped her fingers.

Arnold smiled. "Thanks, Helga."

They continued talking throughout the entire recess. As they talked, Arnold came to find Helga more and more interesting. She was actually an interesting person to talk to. She writes poetry, and she has very interesting points of view on everything. She's unlike any girl he's ever met before.

The bell rang, ending recess and interrupting his thoughts. After everyone was seated, Mr. Simmons walked in with a stack full of notebook papers with writing on them. He pulled one piece out and set the rest on his desk.

"Okay, class. I hope you all had a good recess. Now, I'm going to read yet another poem by anonymous."

Arnold looked over to Helga and was surprised to see that she wasn't sinking in her chair. Instead she was doodling in her notebook. Wow. She even learned to ignore the fact that it's probably another of her love poems.

He started to listen to the poem being read by Mr. Simmons.

"I love you with all I am

And all I'll ever be

You are my moon, my sun and stars

My earth, my sky, my sea"

He's gotta admit, she's a pretty good poet. It may all be about him, but like he said before, 'It's pretty cool that someone likes me. Obsessive, but cool.'. He continued to listen to the surprisingly long poem, becoming lost in his thoughts.

"My love for you goes down and down

Beneath both life and death,

So deep it must remain when I

Have drawn my last faint breath"

_He saw them playing catch in the park. As she looked at him, she smiled._

"Holding you for months and years

Will make time disappear,

Will make your lips, my lips, your face,

My face, your tear, my tear"

_He looked at her and smiled back._

"Will make us one strange personage

All intertwined in bliss,

Not man or woman, live or dead

Just nothing, but a kiss."

_They continued smiling as they tossed the ball back and forth. Back and forth, back and forth..._

"Arnold! Snap out of it!" He heard Gerald whisper in his ear.

"Huh?" Arnold's eyes snapped open. He hadn't realized he closed them.

"Are you okay, man?"

Arnold rubbed his eye and yawned. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine, Gerald. Just a little tired. I guess I didn't get enough sleep last night. I'll be okay."

He then looked down at his desk to find a drawing in his notebook with three words legibly written in the center of the page and his pencil in hand. When he read the words in the center he ripped the page out of his notebook, crumpled it up, and put it in the recycling bin before anyone could notice his drawing.

Helga heard crumpling and noticed Arnold hastily throwing a wad of paper in the recycle bin. She didn't see what he wrote, much to Arnold's relief, but his swift movements looked suspicious.

**Ooo. What's gonna happen next? Exciting! Yaaaay!**

**Just to let you all know, this is going to be a lot longer than the first fic. More than five chapters, definately.**

**Just for the record, I did not write that poem. I looked it up and found it on some love poem site. I forget who wrote it. Well, thanks, whoever you are!**

**Thanks to all who bother to review! I still love you all!**

**The following is a made up script of Ed, Edd, n' Eddy and is in no way relevant to anything in this story (yet).**

**Eddy: Okay, Ed. Now, show them what you're made of! (greedy scamming grin)**

**Ed: Okay. Uhhhhhhhhhhh...oh yeah.**

**GRAVY!**

**Double dee: No, Ed. Try again.**

**Ed: Oh, no, wait...**

**Eddy: Come on, come on!**

**Ed: BUTTER TOAST!**

**Double dee: Not quite, Ed.**

**Ed: No, wait. Uh...**

**Eddy: (Yanks the mike out of Ed's hands) You're taking too long! Let me do it!**

**Double dee: No! Eddy, wait!**

**Eddy: (Taps the mike twice) Check, check. (Taps the mike twice) Hey, is this thing on?**

**Double dee: Yes, it is, Eddy. Just don't-**

**Eddy: REVIEW!**

**Double dee: (Sighs) Yell.**


	4. Discoveries Inside Memories

**Hi everybody!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! heruisdkferdfgrendfl!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold. Yeah, that's pretty much it. You're lucky I'm in a not so irritated mood right now. Otherwise, I would KILL YOU!**

**Ha, just kidding! But seriously, I don't own the show, so stop bugging me for it.**

He still couldn't believe what he wrote! The very idea of the words astonished him. As he thought about it throughout the remainder of the classtime, he couldn't help but sense that strange familiar feeling again. Only it's stronger now. He still couldn't identify it, but he knows that whatever this feeling was, he hasn't felt it in a long time.

_Maybe it has something to do with that disappointment I felt in preschool. _When he thought about that disappointment, he realized that this strange, unidentified feeling came with another feeling with which he could identify. Relief. He now feels relief. This is the feeling that has rendered the disappointment null and void.

So now all that's leftout in the open is the unknown, yet strongly familiar feeling that is no longer hidden by disappointment. He still couldn't figure it out. It's no longer hidden by anything yet he doesn't have a clue as to what it is.

He thought about this for the remainder of the class.

After the bell rang and the rest of the class ran out of the room, eager to get home, Helga was on her way out the door and saw the crumpled up paper in the bin. She took it out and as she started to unravel it, she saw a bunch of doodles of the shape that was oh, too familiar to her crewdly drawn and smudged slightly along the edges. As she continued to unravel it, she thought, _Oh, great! Who's he crushing on now? I bet he hasn't gotten over Li-_

Her thoughts were screeched to a halt by what she saw in the middle of the page. She was taken aback by the words she saw. She couldn't believe it. She was so awestruck that only two words came into her mind, and strangely voiced by Rhonda instead of herself.

_No way._

She folded up the paper quick and stowed it next to her locket. She decided she'd look at it again when she got home as she headed out the door to the bus.

"So Arnold, what's wrong? You seemed distracted today." Gerald asked as the bus pulled away from the school.

No answer.

"Seriously, man. What's got you so distracted lately?" He said with an eyebrow raised.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Gerald. I just need some time to think, that's all."

"Are you sure you don't need to talk about it?"

Arnold shook his head. "No. I need to sort things out before I can talk about it."

Gerald nodded. "Okay, man. Just don't lose yourself, okay?"

They did their secret handshake. "I-I won't."

They sat through the rest of the busride in silence. They walked home in silence. Arnold went up to his room in silence. When his door was completely shut, he started pacing his room, thinking. _What is that feeling I have? It makes no sense. Why is this feeling so familiar? And why do I keep thinking about Helga?_

He stopped. _Wait. There's a connection between Helga and this unnamed feeling. But what? And why would I get lost in her eyes twice in one day?_

As Arnold thought that over, he then remembered the paper from earlier that day. _No, no. That can't be it. Can it? I knew it was possible. But this soon?_

Then he remembered the conversation a couple weeks ago. More specifically, what she said when she left.

_"Aurevoir, Arnold."_

_That sounds so familiar. Where did I hear that before?_

Then his eyes widened. _Valentine's day! Cecile, or, the girl who pretended to be Cecile, said that when she left me at Chez Paris. _Then he realized. _That must have been Helga in that outfit! Well, at least I know why she did it. She told me she liked me then, too. And I kissed her hand goodbye as we departed._

Arnold paused. _What? Wait, I'm supposed to meet them in the park! _Arnold grabbed his baseball and his brown leather glove as he headed out his bedroom door.

"See ya, grandpa! I'm going to play some catch in the park!" He said as he passed the family room.

"Okay! Be back by six, short man!" Phil replied as Arnold was on his way out the front door.

**Soooo, what did you think? Please let me know!**

**I give eternal thanks to all of my faithful readers! I can only hope and pray that you stay faithful! I love you all!**

**I'm sorry about it being a short chapter. I coudn't really think of anything more to add. Sorry.**

**Now, I must be saying goodbye. I know you must be balling your eyes out right now. I bid you a do.**

**I can't think of something funny to put here, so...**

**REVIEW!**


	5. Catch part 1

**Yay! Chappie five! Not much to say, so, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold. End of story. Capeesh!**

_I hope I'm not late! I hope I'm not late!_

As he walked toward the old oak tree, he spoted Gerald and Phoebe talking to each other while they wait. No sign of Helga. _Where is she?_

He looked at his watch. _She should be here by now._

"Hey Gerald! Phoebe!" He called to them as he waved. They waved back.

"You're late, Arnold!" Gerald said as Arnold came within earshot.

Arnold sighed. "I know. I needed time to think so much I guess I, forgot. Where's Helga? She's not one to be late to anything."

Gerald looked to Phoebe. She looked confused for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

"Oh! I just remembered. She called me and said she needed to take care of something real quick before she meets us."

"Okay. We can play catch whil we wait." Gerald suggested.

"But Helga has my glove." Phoebe informed.

Arnold held his glove out to Phoebe. "Here. You two can play. I wanna think for a bit, anyway."

"Are you sure, Arnold? I can wait a turn." Phoebe said.

Arnold held up his free hand. "No. It's fine. I don't mind."

Phoebe accepted the glove and baseball. Arnold leaned against the tree, watching the clouds pass by as Gerald and Phoebe tossed the ball back and forth, all waiting for Helga to come.

Twenty minutes later, Arnold saw Helga just on the hill's horizon, waving as she ran toward them.

"Hey Guys! Sorry I'm late. I had some buisiness to take care of. I brought an extra ball, just in case."

She was about to hand Phoebe the extra glove when she noticed that Phoebe already had a glove on her hand.

"When did you get a glove, Phoebs?"

"Oh, no. This is Arnold's glove. He let me use it while we waited for you." Phoebe explained. She handed the glove back to Arnold and took the one from Helga.

"Okay. Who's playing who?" Gerald asked.

"Me and Gerald will play each other. You and Helga will face each other. The winners best out of three will play each other. The losers will play each other. Best out of three catches wins. That sound good?" Arnold said.

"Okay." Helga said.

"That sounds doable!" Phoebe said.

"Sounds good to me." Gerald aggreed.

"Alright. Let's play ball!"

Arnold and Gerald played far enough away from the tree that the farthest branches couldn't reach over them. Helga and Phoebe played on the opposite side of the tree.

When he was sure they were out of earshot, Gerald asked, "So, why were you so distracted today? Or do you still need to think on it?"

Arnold gave a sigh. "Have you ever had this weird feeling but couldn't figure out what it is?"

He looked at Arnold for a moment. Finally, he said, "Yeah, you need more time to think."

Arnold nodded. "You're right, Gerald."

Arnold tossed the ball back and Geralld missed the catch.

"Ha! I got you!" Arnold said.

"Yeah. Okay. I get it, Arnold. You got me. You won." Gerald replied as he went to get the ball.

As they headed back to the tree, they spotted Phoebe and Helga talking to each other as they sat under the tree.

Helga turned her head towards them and called, "It's about time! What took you so long?"

"What? How long have you guys been sitting?" Arnold asked as they came into earshot.

"About five minutes." Phoebe replied, looking at her watch. "So who won?"

"Arnold did. What about you guys?"

"Helga."

"You and me, then. Play ball!"

Gerald headed back the direction he came. Helga handed Phoebe her baseball as Phoebe got up to follow Gerald.

Helga got up as well and said, "Well, it looks like we're playing each other. You wanna toss first?"

Arnold then offered the ball to Helga as he said, "No. You can go first."

_My love offered me the first toss! I think I'm gonna die! (Mentally swoons)_

"No, I insist you toss first, football head."

Arnold suddenly lifted his head slightly, his eyes looking intent and surprised.

_What? Wait, what did I just say? Did I just call him 'football head'? Oh, great! Now I really am gonna die!_

"Haven't used that name in a long time." He said softly.

She reached out to him. "Arnold, I-I didn't mean-"

"Relax, Helga. I don't mind the name. And I know you didn't mean it the way it sounded." Arnold assured her with a smile.

_My love. Kind and understanding. (Mentally swoons)_

Helga smiled back.

She tossed the ball into play and they started the game.

As they tossed the ball back and forth Arnold finally broke the silence between them.

"I'm so glad that we're friends, Helga. I really have had fun hanging out with you for the past few weeks."

Helga then perked up at his words. _Do my ears decieve me? Did Arnold just say that he has enjoyed my company? Oh, happy days! Oh, Arnold, my love. Your sweet words fill my heart with joy. (Mentally swoons) _"Yeah, me too."

Arnold was surprised at her tone. She sounded distracted, almost, sad. "What's wrong?" He asked in his usual, considerate to everyone voice. He tossed the ball back to Helga.

"I'm just thinking about my family at home." She tossed back.

"Is Olga coming to visit again?"

"No. It's just, sometimes, I wish I could get away from it all, you know? If I had a choice, I would never go back home again. My mom and dad are, well, not exactly the best parents around."

"What would make you think that?"

"Well, let's see. Bob, my so called 'dad' is always too busy with buisiness or gambling to pay attention. And Miriam, heh, let's just say she drinks so many smoothies she can't even stay awake long enough to even make my lunch right or make sure it's put on the counter instead of in the oven. And then there's Olga. Bob and Miriam are always so proud of her and pay so much attention to her that they barely notice that I exist. They've been neglecting me for as long as I can remember."

She had a rather sad look on her face as she said that last sentence.

Arnold didn't notice much. "And how far back was that?" He questioned.

"Cince I was three."

This saddened Arnold. There was a short period of silence, then he spoke.

"You have lived a lonely sad life. No one to be there for you." By this time, they stopped tossing Arnold's baseball.

Helga looked down at the ball in her glove. "Well, there was someone."

She looked back up at Arnold. She then gave him a sincere smile. "I think you know who that is." She added.

That was when he realized what she was referring to. _That day in preschool. _He thought. _I held an umbrella over her. And complemented her. That must be the day she-_

His thoughts were interrupted when Helga spoke. "One morning after I grabbed my lunchbox for preschool, I went into the living room in search for Bob and Miriam. There they were, smiling proudly as they watched and listened to Olga play the piano. Confused, I tugged on Bob's pant leg and said, 'Daddy, who's taking me to pweschool?' You know what he said? He said, 'Huh? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just, go outside and play or something.' and waved me off! Then he said, 'Come on, let's hear another one!' and Olga said something about a one minute waltz. Then, as she started playing some other song, I walked out of the living room and said, 'I'm going to pweschool.' They didn't say anything, so as I went out the door, I shouted, 'I'm going to pweschool!' in an annoyed tone. It was when I closed the door that I noticed it was raining. Saddened by this, I continued on. When I came up to the street crossing, a car drove past ans splashed mud all over my jumper. When I passed an alley, an alley dog took my lunch box. I continued on until I saw the preschool building. By the time I reached the front of the building, I was soaking wet and really sad. So I just stood there, looking down at my shoes when I noticed that drops had stopped falling on me. I looked up and noticed an umbrella above my head. Then I looked over and saw you when you said, 'Hi. Nice bow.' Then I said, 'Huh?' and you clarified by saying, 'I like your bow, because it's pink like your pants.' That's when I fell for you. You're the only person who's ever noticed me and actually seemed to care. At the time, I never intended to be your bully in the first place. But then at snack time that day, one of the others caught me sneaking looks at you and mocked it. That hurt me so much, I decided to put my true feelings in hiding as this new side of me was let loose. From that day on and every day since, I was too afraid that they'll laugh at me again. All because I have problems at home that was so hard on me already, I just couldn't take any more hurt. So, yeah. My parents aren't even parents to me. That's why I call them 'Bob' and 'Miriam'. They don't deserve the title of 'mom' and 'dad'."

Wow. Arnold was speechless. He couldn't imagine having parents who neglected him for an older sibling. He knew she had problems at home, but he didn't know it was that bad. There was that feeling of saddness for her again. He stood there as he breathed it in.

"Arnold?" Helga said.

"Wow. I had no idea." Then he realized. "Are we still playing, or do you want to call a tie?"

Helga almost forgot about catch. She tossed the ball to him and smiled.

"No. We're still playing. Don't think you can win that easily!"

**Yay! So, how'd you like it? Tell me!**

**Thanks once again to those who are everlastingly faithful to this whole story.**

**I wanna let you all know that there is lots more to come. I still haven't gotten to the ending yet! Can you believe it?**

**With nothing more to say, here is my final word.**

**REVIEW!**


	6. Catch part 2

**Hello, my readers!**

**Now, I don't really have a whole lot to say here, so...**

**Justin Bieber!**

**Seriously, what is up with this guy? Okay, no offense to him, or any of his fans, but, why does anyone like that high voice of his? He sounds like a girl! As for his looks, well, they're okay, I guess. Somehow, I don't look at guys like that yet. But I totally love love! It's just so, (sigh) dreamy. One day, I WILL fall in love! Just not today. Boohoo!**

**Anyway, I couldn't think of any good random words today, so I just decided on his name.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any other show ever made so far. I might own a show in the future though! You never know until it happens!**

**Well, that's about it. Read and enjoy, readers!**

"What's the score?" Arnold said.

"None, zip." Helga informed.

Arnold tossed the ball far over Helga's head.

"I got it, I got it!" She shouted as she ran after the ball. As she caught the ball, she tripped on a rock and tumbled downhill. "Woah!"

"Helga!" Arnold said as he ran after her, being careful not to trip over the rock. After a period of tumbling, she finally slowed to a stop.

Arnold stopped when he saw her about ten feet away. "Helga, are you okay?" He said, a little out of breath.

A few moments passed after he caught his breath. Then they both burst with friendly laughter.

"Sorry about that." He finally said as he calmed down.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Here." Arnold said, offering Helga his hand. She accepted it, and with a little struggle, they pulled her up to her feet.

"Did you catch it?" Arnold asked, lookikng around for the ball.

Helga gave a chuckle. "I was about to when I tripped." She replied, starting to look for it as well.

SHe spotted it over by the dock on the lake and ran the rest of the way down the hill to get to it. As she reached down to grab it, her foot accidentally kicked it into the water.

"Hey, I found it!" She called to Arnold. He spotted her down by the lake and headed in her direction.

"Really? Where is it?" He said.

"In the water. I see it, but I can't reach it."

As Helga was crouched over the edge, reaching into the water for the ball, Arnold gently nudged her and she fell in with a splash.

Then he started to laugh. "Ha, ha! Got you!"

"All right, fine. You got me. Now could you help me out?" Helga said holding her hand out to him. He grabbed her hand and suddenly...

splash! She pulled him in. "Heh. Looks like I got you back Arnold." They both started laughing again.

"How are we gonna get the ball now?" Arnold asked after they calmed down, just as he pulled himself onto the dock.

Just then, an idea came to Helga. "Be right back." Then she dove under the water.

Moments later, Helga emerged from the lake's murky depths. Her arm then stetched out from under the water, her hand grasping something. As she placed it on the dock, Arnold realized what it was.

"My ball!" He said as he reached down to pick it up. He helped Helga out as he grabbed her arm outstretched to him. Immediately as she stood on the dock, he reached out and hugged her and said, "Thanks Helga! You're the best!" Of course, she melted a little in his arms, but instead of pushing him away, she returned the favor.

They held that position a few moments; still freezing from the lake water; trying to retain as much body heat from the other as possible. Then, realizing the extention time of their embrace, they released, feeling awkward. They faced away from each other, attempting to hide their slightly blushed faces.

"Sorry...about that." Arnold finally said, turning back towards Helga.

"Oh, no. It's fine, Arnold. I mean, we're freezing, right?"

"Yeah. We'd better get some towels to dry off."

"Yeah."

They made their way back to the tree and saw Gerald and Phoebe waiting for them.

"Woah. What happened?" Gerald said.

"We fell into the lake." Arnold replied.

"Yeah. The ball fell in and we went to reach in for it and, I guess we leaned a bit too far." Helga added as she rubbed the back of her neck. Then a shiver went down her spine and she returned to her hands holding her arms, trying to keep warm.

"Here's your glove back, Helga." Phoebe handed her the glove.

"And your ball." Gerald handed her the ball.

"Thanks." She replied as she accepted the items.

"We'd, better get going. We have to grab some towels to dry off." Arnold said.

"Okay. See you tomarrow Arnold."

Gerald and Phoebe waved goodbye as Arnold and Helga headed out of the park.

It was a short walk to the boarding house. When Arnold opened the door, the animals came rushing out.

"Come on. There's some towels in the closet upstairs." Arnold said.

Still dripping wet, Arnold and Helga went upstairs and each grabbed a towel from the closet which they wrapped around their shoulders. Then they headed into Arnold's room to dry off.

"So, Helga, what do you want to do next?" Arnold said.

"Huh?" Helga looked up to him.

"You didn't think that we were only gonna play catch, did you?"

_Yes, that's exactly what I thought._ "Oh, no. Of course not." She replied.

Having some ideas in mind, Helga hesitated, then spoke her thoughts aloud. "I was thinking, maybe Dino Land, catch a coaster or two. Then maybe the arcade or something."

Arnold finished towel drying his hair and combed it into place. "Okay. Hey, are you done?"

Helga looked to Arnold. "With what?"

"Drying yourself."

"Oh. Yeah. Here." She handed him the damp wet towel and put them both in his hamper. Then he grabbed the money out of his desk drawer and shoved it in his pocket.

"Alright. Come on."

She followed him as they headed down the stairs and out the door.

On the way to Dino Land, Helga stopped Arnold in his tracks as she remembered something.

"Helga, are you okay?" Arnold said when he turned to her.

Suddenly, she grabbed his wrist. "Come on." She said. "Helga! What are you-"

Helga then pulled on him to follow, interrupting him mid sentence. She led him through alleys, behind buildings, and various other passages less traveled by the public. Finally, they passed through a hole in a wooden fence hidden by a loose fence board. When Arnold stood up straight, he saw a bunch of booths with prizes and food stands.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"Dino Land." She replied.

**Do you love it? Hate it? Neutral about it?**

**Sorry. I know it's kinda short. But this is supposed to be limited to the second part of what happened in the park pretty much.**

**I thank all those out there who reviewed last chapter:**

**-loonytunecrazy**

**-Knowledge-comes-Wisdom-lingers**

**-Anonymous Latina**

**-acosta perez jose ramiro**

**-Axel's inferno**

**Thanks you guys! You rock!**

**Plenty more to come!**

**REVIEW!**


	7. A Visit to Dino Land

**Hi my fellow readers! Miss me? Well, I missed you too! Lucky for me, I was let on my computer for the rest of the weekend. This will probably be my only update for awhile, unless I can somehow type an entire chapter over tomarrow and monday in time to post it! That probably won't happen, so I hope you enjoy this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Oh! Almost forgot! The random word of choice this time is...LEAFY GREENS!**

**Okay, NOW enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Do I even have to say it? Ugh. Fine. I DO NOT OWN HEY ARNOLD IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. GOT IT? Good. You better.**

Arnold looked at her, dumbfounded.

She smiled at him. "Don't worry Arnold. I've been sneaking in this way since I was seven. They won't catch us. Now, let's get on that roller coaster!"

Arnold had almost forgot about that. Just then he could remember her telling him that when she was modeling for a new girl's clothing line and she had gotten a lifetime pass to Dino Land.

Wow. Those were some good memories.

Arnold and Helga got on the roller coaster and they were strapped in by the ride attendant.

"Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. Thank you for cooperating and enjoy the ride." The man said.

He stepped into a control booth and suddenly the coaster was set in motion.

"And we're off." Arnold said as the coaster made its way uphill.

Arnold looked over at Helga. She looked nervous and was consentrating on her breathing.

"Are you okay Helga?" He said.

She noticed Arnold had asked her something and nervously answered, "I-I'm fine, Arnold. Just forgot how high this was, that's all." Then she continued breathing.

"Just keep your hands on the safety rail. You'll be just fine."

She smiled. "Thanks Arnold."

He smiled back. Then he turned his eyes front and saw they were about at the top of the first hill. "Here we go." He exclaimed.

Helga tightened her grip. The coaster slowed as it reached the top; the suspense eating the life out of her. As she saw the steep downward slope of track, the speed began to increase slowly at first, then faster and faster until they were completely headed downhill. She screamed when the coaster dropped. The coaster went through loops and corkscrews until they came to a tunnel. The dark tunnel was filled with spooky shapes and figures and sillhouettes. Some jumped out at you, some were up to something no good, and some just had that ominous look upon them. When a T-rex jolted toward them, Helga yelped, causing her hand to jump onto Arnold's. They felt the sudden skin contact, but neither pulled away. They were probably trying to concentrate on the ride. _Yeah. That's it. _Arnold thought.

But he knew that he was only making excuses to cover up the truth.

He didn't think on it much now as the coaster came to the last drop on the track. The coaster came to a stop, Arnold stepped out, then offered a hand to Helga to help her out. She accepted his offer (duh), and when she stepped out, he could see her shaking.

"Are you okay Helga?" He asked with concern in his voice.

She controlled her shaking limbs as best she could and said, "Y-Yeah. I'm okay."

"How about we go sit down? You look like you need a chance to calm and steady yourself." Arnold said as they walked toward a group of picnic tables under a canopy and sat at a table. _Oh, Arnold. How kind and thoughtful you are. If I weren't so weak, I'd run to a secure location in this place and speak more of my love for you aloud where you would not hear it. You may know of my love for you, but you don't know of all I do to openly express my feelings in secret. Oh, Arnold, my love._

Arnold stood up. "I'm getting hungry. I'm gonna head to the food stand. Do you want anything?"

Helga thought about it as she felt her stomach with her hand. "Just a small soda. Thank you."

Arnold smiled at her as he said, "One small soda, coming right up! You want Yahoo, right?"

Helga shook her head gently. "No. A lemon-lime soda will be fine, thank you."

"You got it."

He continued to smile as he headed toward the food stand nearby._ Poor Helga. _He thought. _It's probably been awhile since she came here last. Especially considering how hard she's been trying to control herself from being mean to anyone recently. No wonder she's all frazzled by the coaster._

"One pretzel and two small lemon-lime sodas please." As he waited for his order, he watched Helga as she was talking to herself with that dazed look in her eyes.

Shortly after he recieved the pretzel and two sodas, Arnold paid the cashier and made his way back to Helga sitting at the table. He set down the cup on the table as he sat down. "Here. One small lemon-lime soda."

Helga took the cup. "Thanks." she said softly.

Arnold gestured his pretzel to her. "Here. Want some of my pretzel?"

She hesitated. "Uh, sure." She said as she reached over and pulled off a piece. Then she popped the piece in her mouth and began to chew it as Arnold picked a piece off for himself.

As they enjoyed their sodas and shared the pretzel amongst themselves, Arnold kept thinking. His feelings were all jumbled together and hard to separate at this point. He's having a good time with Helga, he and Helga are now friends, he's proud of her for actually being nice, and attatched to all that, he stil has this feeling he can't identify. _Man, this is all so confu-_

His train of thought was interrupted when Helga threw a piece of pretzel at him.

"Earth to Arnold!"

He jerked himself out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

Helga then pulled on his wrist once again. "Come on! Let's get some pictures!" Then she pulled him into a nearby photo booth.

When they were in, Arnold pushed a quarter into the slot. In the first photo, Arnold put bunny ears on Helga as she stuck her toungue out in a playful manner. In the second, Helga grabbed Arnold's head and posed as if she were giving him a noogie. In the third, they were both laughing. In the last one, Arnold had his arm on Helga's shoulders as she had her arm on his and they were both giving a friendly smile to the camera. When they came out of the photo booth, the pictures printed and were waiting in the slot. Arnold grabbed them first. Then he gestured them to Helga.

"Here. You can have them."

Helga pushed them back in rejection. "No. You take them. It's your quarter."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Arnold pocketed them. "Thanks Helga."

**So, what did you think? Like it? Hate it? Okay, but needs improvement? Need a better close to the chapter? If you said yes to the last one, send me some ideas for a better ending. I love to hear from you guys!**

**Like I said before, this is probably going to be the only update for awhile. I'm not completely off my grounding yet. And because of the time of year, I hope all of you have a happy Easter tomarrow! Have fun with your Easter egg hunts and what-not!**

**Now, for the ultimate conclusion of the chapter. Are you ready? Well, too bad! Here it is anyway!**

**REVIEW!**


	8. Conversation and Competition

**Hello again fellow readers! Hope you all had a nice week! Mine was okay. A few bumps in the road, here and there, but overall it was pretty good. Well, here's another chapter for ya! Teehee. I've always wanted to use that word in my writing. 'Ya'. I don't know why...oh well.**

**And the random word of the chapter is...thrifty monkeys!**

**Yeah, um, I'm, kinda running out of random word ideas, so, yeah. _Awkward! _If you have any ideas I haven't used yet, please send them to me. Don't worry, I'll make sure to give you credit. Much appreciated!**

**On my mark. Get set. Read! Haha. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I dO nOt OwN hEy ArNoLd. There. try to unscramble that! Ha!**

Helga then yanked Arnold's wrist yet again back out the way they came in. Arnold struggled to respond.

Finally, he said, "Where are we going now?"

Still looking ahead, she responded, "The arcade. Come on." with an excited smile on her face.

She pulled him back the way they came in and headed to the arcade.

She stopped pulling him when they arrived on the sidewalk. They almost immediately slowed to a walk as someone passed by.

Once they were out of earshot, Arnold said, "Why do you keep yanking me everywhere?"

"Sorry," She said, "I guess I get a bit excited when I'm with you. I know it sounds weird, but I guess that's what it does to me. 'It' being, um, y-you know." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Yeah, I know. I actually heard this saying once about it."

"What was it?"

"I think my grandpa told it to me awhile ago. He said, 'Love can make people do crazy things'. I didn't undersand it then, but, knowing what I know now, I think I get it."

Helga looked to him in confusion and a hint of hope. "Really? How?" She was hoping her fantasy has become a reality.

"Well, remembering how you always called me names and acted angry around me, and then your confession, it kinda makes sense why you teased me. You were trying to hide it. You acted as if you hated me when really it was the opposite. I guess your emotions were so strong that they told you to express the exact opposite of how you feel. Does that make sense?"

Helga looked down at her feet then. "Yeah. That makes sense."

Arnold noticed. "Are you okay?"

She looked to him again and said, "Yeah, Arnold. I'm okay."

"Strange memories, huh?" He said.

"Yeah."

"Hey, remember that dream I told you about that night?"

Helga thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, I had that dream when Rhonda did that marriage predictor test on me."

"And, what was the dream?"

"Well, I dreampt that we were just married and I was twenty five. Your dad told me I was going to work on the loading dock of his beeper imporium. I was the only one doing the work while everyone else was supervising me. I slipped on a bananna peel while unloading. On the way home, your dad and I saw a stork fly off the roof. I walked inside and saw three little babies in a crib. You wanted to get out of the house because the crying was 'driving you banannas', but i grabbed your arm and told you that you had to take responsibility, too. I said that I knew that you weren't that mean. You looked away and tried to deny what I was saying. Then I insisted that you weren't that mean. Then you gave in. You told me that you weren't that mean, you even said that you liked me. I think you were about to tell me that you loved me when my alarm clock went off. A real cooincidence, huh?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

Helga was still processing what he'd just told her when he finished. Finally, she said, "Uh, y-yeah. Cooincidence."

"Well, here we are." Arnold said as he opened the door to the arcade and motioned for Helga to walk in first.

"So, what should we play?" He asked her when the door closed behind them.

She turned her head to the left. "How about air hockey?"

"Okay."

Arnold got out some quarters, put in two, and they each grabbed their paddle. (Fun fact: The thing you use to hit the puck around on an air hockey table is called a paddle! Weird, huh? I thought the same thing when I looked it up!)

"I am so gonna own you in this game!" Helga exclaimed.

Cachink! "I'm sorry, what was that? I was too busy scoring in your goal." Arnold said.

"Hey! I wasn't ready!"

Arnold took the puck from the slot. "Are you ready _now_?"

Helga put her paddle against the table, carefully guarding her goal. Then she nodded. "Ready when you are."

He let the puck go and hit it to Helga. She hit it back to Arnold. Back and forth, back and forth. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Cachink!

"So, what was that about owning me?" Arnold said with a smug look on his face.

"Grrr. You are going down, and I'll be the one to take you there. You got that bub?"

Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Cachink! "Like I said. Totally gonna _own _you!" Helga said.

"Oh, it's on!"

They continued to play, ocasional scores here and there. Both stayed concentrated on the game. Back and forth, the puck slid. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Back and forth. Back and forth. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Finally, the score was 10-10, next goal wins. Both held a concentrated gaze on the puck, sliding their paddles back and forth in defense of their goal. By now, their faces were so close to the table that they could feel the cool air from the table against their skin. Their free hand was firmly gripping the table, keeping themselves steady. Back and forth across the table, the puck slid. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. This last round went on for several minutes, and then...

...Cachink!

**So...how was it? Was it good? Bad? Did it totally blow your mind? Did it turn it to mush? What do you think I could improve? What parts do you absolutely love? Who do you think won? What do you think will happen next? Are you a totally huge ArnoldxHelga fan? Are you just reminising in good memories? Let me know! I'd love to hear from you!**

**ATTENTION ALL HEY ARNOLD FANS! I bet you are all really bummed about the cancellation of the rest of the making of TJM, right? Some of you are so irritated about it that you want to put the process back in drive. You try to send emails, but it fails. Or, it seems to, so far. Well, a few nights ago, my brain hatched an idea. If we all send letters to Nickelodeon Studios in, New York, I think, telling them to put together and air a, are you ready for this? Hey Arnold reunion weekend marathon, all leading up to the primere of TJM on Sunday night, or, Saturday night, maybe. Telling them to ask Craig Bartlett to come back just to finish the making of it for the marathon, and to remind him of all of us Hey Arnold fans out here who are much less than satisfied. For some reason, my facebook account got 'disconnected', so I can't get on and start anything for it there, so I want you to private message me, telling me that you're on board with this plan, then tell all of your facebook friends, your buddies from school, work, etc., everyone you know who's a Hey Arnold fan about this and ask them to private message me if there on board too. Then, on Facebook, search 'Hey Arnold TJM' and, um, find the New York address from there, I guess. I haven't been on Facebook in awhile, so I can't remember how to find it. Then use that address to send your letter to them. Make sure to include all the details mentioned above. Once I find the address, I'll be sure to post it in an upcoming chapter for you. Next to your name on the letter, or below it, write 'K.C.'s fight for TJM' so they know that we're all together in this. I need all the help I can get on this. So PLEASE HELP ME WIN THIS!**

**Sorry that was a long notice. I didn't want to forget any of the details. Anywho, I want to give thanks for all who reviewed my last chapter!**

**-acosta perez jose ramiro**

**-MidniteRaine**

**-Knowledge-comes-Wisdom-lingers**

**-xxMasonAndAlex4Everxx**

**-Anonymous Latina**

**Thanks guys! I appreciate it!**

**Now, it being the end of the chapter, there's only one more thing to say.**

**REVIEW!**


	9. Personal Conclusions

**Hello my readers! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Well, here's chapter nine!**

**The random word of the chapter is...paddlewrench!**

**Ha! I actually still have a few left! Yay! I would still like to hear some of your ideas. Just send me some!**

**Disclaimer: !dlonrA yeH nwo t'nod I. There! Decode that!**

"Ha! I won! I beat you!" Helga exclaimed, pointing at Arnold.

Arnold rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. I guess you did."

They left the table. Helga held her hand out to him and cleared her throat. "'Ahem' Uh, I mean, good game, uh, Arnold."

Arnold shook her hand with a smile. "Yeah. Good game."

They headed toward the door. Helga stopped them. "Alright. I won. You owe me something."

They continued out of the arcade. Arnold thought a minute as he pushed open the door. "How about an ice cream from Slausen's?" He offered.

Helga smiled. "Sounds good. Let's go!" And again, she yanked on his wrist down the street to Slausen's.

The bell on the door rang as they walked in. They sat at the ice cream bar and the bartender walked up to them and held up his pad of paper and pancil. "What'll ya have?" The teen employee said.

Helga looked to Arnold. She was unsure of what to get. Arnold was paying after all. She didn't want him to spend all of his money on her. He looked back to her. "Whatever you want is on me." He said with a smile. She smiled back. Then she turned her head back to the bartender.

"I'll have an extra large, triple chocaolate shake, two cherries, and no funny stuff." She said to the bartender. _She sure takes her shakes seriously_, Arnold thought. _For someone who's changed a lot, she hasen't changed a bit._ Arnold smiled.

Then Helga added, "And don't skip on the whip cream, okay Wyatt?" Arnold realized this was the same guy that served them on April Fool's day. Arnold shook his head. _What a weird memory._

xxHey Arnold!xx

After they left Slausen's, Arnold decided it was time to take Helga home.

"We'd, better head home." He said as he rubbed his neck. "It's getting late."

Helga looked at the sky. It was a beautiful blend of orange, red, pink, and purple, all colliding with the clouds in the sunset sky. "Yeah." She agreed.

"You, want me to walk you home?" He said nervously.

She couldn't help but mentally swoon at that. She smiled nervously back and said, "Uh, sure, A-Arnold. I mean, if you want." Then she gave a nervous laugh. They turned and started walking in the direction of Helga's house.

As they were walking down the street, they passed Mrs. Vittello's flower shop display window. Arnold noticed the flowers in the window.

Then Helga said, "You know, I don't know why, but I like Chrysanthamums." She must have noticed the window too. "They're just, I guess they just give me this uplifting feeling, you know. Makes me feel more, mellow."

As arnold looked at the flowers in the window, he thought, _who knew Helga actually had a favorite flower?_ Then he figured he better remember that in case he needs it.

"What about you, Arnold? What's your favorite flower?" She said.

"What? Oh, I don't really have a favorite flower. I think they're all rather pretty." Helga looked at the flowers in the window again. "Mmm, I guess so." Then they turned the corner.

Moments later, they made it to Helga's house. Arnold rubbed the back of his neck. "Here we are." He said nervously.

She walked up the steps to the front door. "I had a really great time today, Arnold. Thanks." She said.

He smiled. "I'm glad you had fun, and you're welcome."

She put her hand on the doorknob and began to turn it. "See you tomarrow, Arnold." She smiled back.

"Yeah. See you tomarrow." He held up his hand in a farewell as she closed the door slowly.

She then turned around and leaned on the front door, giving a lovesick sigh. "Oh, Arnold. So kind. So thoughtful. And you spent the day with me. Willingly." Then she gave a swoon, a lovesick smile upon her face as she sank a little against the door.

Then Bob walked by and said, "And where have you been, little lady?"

Still dazed, Helga simply replied, "Out."

Bob raised one side of his eyebrow.

Snapping out of it, Helga added, "Uh, I-I mean, uh, none of your buisiness, Bob. Since when have you cared?" With her usual attitude and scowl. "Out of my way!" Then she stomped around him and ran up the stairs.

Bob just grunted and walked away.

When Helga was in her room, she took out the piece of paper from her dress. She opened it and stared at the words on the paper as she sat on her bed and began her monologue. "Oh, Arnold. Can this be true? Are these words expressing your true feelings? Wonder is all I can do to keep myself under control, my love." She held the paper close to her as she swooned her lovesick swoon, falling onto her bed.

Arnold walked himself home in silence. After making it to his room, he lay on his bed in thought. _Okay, so, what do I know? Helga loves me, she was the one pretending to be Cecile in that French outfit, and then there's that mystery feeling. _Then he stopped. _Oh, I forgot! I have a paper to type up! _He got up and made his way to his computer across the room. Then he started typing.

As he was stuck on what to write next, Arnold leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes with his hands behind his head. He suddenly saw Helga and the way she was enjoying herself earlier today. She was smiling, laughing, having a wonderful time. And she looked...beautiful. That was the weirdest thought to have about Helga Pataki. How pretty she can be when she's not scowling at you 24/7.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open from his daydreaming. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture strip. In that moment of staring at the pictures, he realized what that undefined feeling was.

"I, I think I," He swallowed hard. "I think I love her." He finally admitted to himself.

The oh so familiar image kept playing over and over in her dreams. The fact that he wrote it on paper made her heart sing. _If he wrote it, then it must be true! _Her dream self kept saying. Then her arm swung out over the edge of her bed and the paper slipped out of her hand, landing on the floor with its words facing the ceiling.

_Arnold loves Helga_

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you want, just let me know.**

**I would like to once again give acknowledgement to those who reviewed my last chapter!**

**-Anonymous Latina**

**-Knowledge-comes-Wisdom-lingers**

**-MidniteRaine**

**Thanks guys! You are awesome for that!**

**I don't have any more to say, so...**

**REVIEW!**


	10. To Do List

**Hi everybody! Glad to finally update again!**

**I'm sorry for the delay. I've been focusing on Lemonade Mouth songs lately. They are pretty cool. Especially the one song where it goes, "Be heard! Be strong! Be proud! I wanna make some noise!" I love that part! It's a song, and a life leeson, all in one!**

**Anywho, here's my tenth chapter. WOW! Ten chapters already! Time flies by fast!**

**The random word of the chapter is...bee manual!**

**Well, that's about it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: You guys should know this by now. No? Ugh. Fine. I. DO. NOT. OWN. HEY. ARNOLD!**

**Now enjoy.**

"Arnold, I think you finally lost it." Gerald told him.

"Gerald, I know it sounds crazy, but I love her."

Gerald sighed. "Are you sure it's not just another crush Arnold?"

"I'm positive. I've never felt this way before, about anyone. She has a great personality. I actually know her. She's not like any other girl I've ever met."

Then Helga got on the bus and sat next to Phoebe, who this time was sitting a couple seats ahead of Arnold and Gerald. Once she sat down, Arnold held a lovesick gaze at the back of Helga's head.

Gerald gave a sigh and put a hand on his friend's back. "You really do love her, don't you Arnold?" Then he gave Arnold a look of seriousness, and understanding.

Arnold looked to Gerald again. "I do." He confirmed with a nod.

Gerald looked down a moment in thought. Then he looked back up to his friend in an expression that Arnold knew all too well.

"Tell her."

Arnold looked at him in surprise and slight panic. "What?"

"Does she know?" Gerald asked.

Arnold started to look down. "Well...no, but,"

Gerald grabbed Arnold's shoulder firmly. "Then as your friend, I suggest you tell her." He said sternly.

Arnold looked back to his friend still a bit panicked. "Why?"

"Because she deserves to know! Didn't you say that she said she loved you?"

Arnold tried to keep his voice low. "Yeah, but that was-"

"Two weeks ago, Arnold. I don't think that she changed her mind about you in two weeks. She cares about you, Arnold. And, _as creepy as it sounds, _I bet she's waiting to hear the same from you."

Arnold sighed and looked down. "You're right, Gerald. She had the courage to tell me, I should have the courage to tell her." Arnold looked up to Gerald. "Thanks Gerald." He said with a friendly smile. "No problem, man. I got your back." Gerald replied.

The bus stopped at the front of the school and the kids made their way down the steps. Helga was super anxious to see Arnold today. She really wanted to talk to him, but she wanted him to come to her. She wasn't just gonna walk up to him and say, 'Hey Arnold. I was just wondering, do you love me? Cause' I found this notebook page of doodles in the recycling yesterday. I thought it might be yours, so I thought I'd ask.' No. It doesn't work like that. He needs to come to her and tell him herself. BUt the waiting was killing her. When was he going to tell her? The anticipation was eating at her insides.

The bell rang and everyone was in their seats. All except for Curly, who was absent today. He was probably told to stay home today. Or maybe he was caught by the people who were chasing him yesterday and they're holding him hostage. Either way, he was absent today.

Mr. Simmons walked in. "Good morning class. Ahem. Does anyone know where Curly is?"

Sid raised his hand. "Someone told me he was going to be absent today." He said.

Mr. Simmons put a mark by Curly's name on his clipboard. "Thank you Sid. Today, we are going to be disscussing the upcoming states project. Everyone will be working in pairs, so to make sure no one feels left out, we will draw names out of the hat, and whoever's name you pull, that's the person you will be working with. Then I will assign a state to each partnership. One week from now, the projects will be due." He then gestured a stack of papers to Eugene in the front row. "Eugene, will you please distribute the rubric sheets?"

Eugene's face lit up instantly upon hearing his name and stood up, accepting the stack of papers. "I'd be delighted to, Mr. Simmons!" Then he handed them out, one by one, around the room at each desk he passed. As he went down one of the isles, he tripped over his own shoelace and fell. The papers flew out of his hands. "I'm okay..." He said in pain as he was still on the floor.

When the rubrics were all handed out and Eugene was back in his seat, Mr. Simmons brought out the big, black top hat filled with slips with names written on them. As he walked across the front of the classroom, each person in the front row pulled a name out of the hat, then either slouched or straightened in their seat at the sight of their partner's name on the slip. Arnold, being the last one in the first row, finally reached in, grasped the first slip he touched, and pulled it out. Slowly, he opened his eyes to see the name on the slip in his hand. _Helga Pataki. _He sighed as he took out his notebook and started writing something down. He tore the page out, folded it up, and passed it to Helga, who was sitting directly behind him today.

_Helga,_

_Turns out we're partners. Have an idea for what we should work on?_

Helga gave it a bit of thought. Then she took out her notebook and wrote back. Then she handed it to Arnold.

_H-Nah. I don't know. You?_

_A-Not a clue._

_H-Clueless again, I see._

_A-What's that supposed to mean?_

_H- Oh, nothing._

_A-Oh really?_

_H-Yeah, really._

_A-Okay. Fine. Be that way._

_H-Thank you. I will._

_A-Me too._

_H-What?_

_A-What?_

_H-I said 'what?'._

_A-So did I._

_H-Stop that._

_A-Stop what?_

_H-That! Whatever it is you're doing, stop it!_

_A-I don't know what you're talking about._

_H-Yes you do._

_A-No I don't._

_H-You do._

_A-I don't._

_H-You do._

_A-I don't._

_H-You don't._

_A-I do._

_H-Ha! Gotcha._

_A-I'll get you back._

_H-Oh, is that right?_

_A-Yeah, that's right._

_H-And what makes you so sure?_

_A-Just you wait. You'll see._

By the time they were done with their note session, everyone knew who their partner was. "Okay. Now I will assign a state to each pair." Mr. Simmons picked up his clipboard and looked at it. "Let's see. Rhonda, you and Harold will work on Wisconsin."

Then Rhonda gave an outburst. "Ugh! How insulting! I was hoping I'd get New York. Instead, I get to work on the state of cheese."

Then Harold interjected. "Cheese? Where?"

"Harold, there isn't any cheese." Mr. Simmons told him.

"Aww, but I'm hungry!" Harold whined back.

Mr. Simmons continued. "Sid, you and Lorenzo will be working on Florida."

Sid just shrugged.

"Stinky, you and Lila will be working on New York."

"Not. Fair!" Rhonda stated in frustration.

"Sheena, you and Nadine will work on Louisiana."

Then Sheena exclaimed, "Ooh! Louisiana! That's the state that's shaped like a boot!"

Then Nadine added, "Yes, and it's also the home of the bayou, home to what must be thousands of insects!"

"Arnold, you and Helga will be working on Michigan."

Helga turned her head up. "Michigan? Well, I guess it's better than Alaska. I don't have to mention my sister being up there."

"So, how about we meet up at my house tonight? Say, five thirty? Then tomarrow we can meet at your house."

Helga gave it a bit of thought. "That sounds good. So we can work on our project."

The bell rang.

"Okay. See you tonight." Arnold said as they stood from their seats.

_I'd better focus on the project. _Helga thought. _No matter how destracting my impatience is._

**So, what did you think? Tell me! Tell me!**

**As will now be the norm, here are the screen names of all who reviewed my last chapter.**

**-MidniteRaine**

**-acosta perez jose ramiro**

**-Knowledge-comes-Wisdom-lingers**

**-KristinaTheGREAT**

**-soothing star**

**Thanks guys! Your reviews mean so much to me!**

**I am running out of random word ideas, so if you have any, please send them to me and I'll be sure to give you credit when I use them.**

**Now, as this chapter comes to a tragic close, there is only one thing left to say.**

**REVIEW!**


	11. Study Night

**Hiya everybody!**

**Sorry about the delayed update. I've been working on homework for the past few weeks, and weekends. I have trouble focusing on schoolwork, so it takes longer. I am so excited about this chapter! And, knowing that I'm an AxH fan, I'm sure you'll recognize why.**

**The random word of the chapter is...carosel lightning!**

**Well, that's about it for now, enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any other company or show. Now good night! (Slams door in your face)**

**Enjoy!**

They both flopped on Arnold's bed and got to work.

"Okay, so what do you have so far?" Arnold asked as he looked over his project notes.

Helga pulled out her notebook and opened it. "Oh, you know. The state bird, the state flag, the state flower. That kinda stuff."

"And what was your source?" He asked.

"Pfft, off of a tourist map. I swear, there must be like a thousand of these things!" She said. "I mean, seriously! What kind of person wastes all their time making up all these little things to represent one state? It's stupid! It's rediculous! It's pointless! It's, it's..."

She suddenly realized that she was raising her voice at her partner. _Oh, crud! I hope he doesnt get mad! _"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell." She said in an apologetic tone. There was a silence. She looked at his face. She couldn't read it all that well. _He's gonna be mad for sure! Crud! Crud! Crud! Crud! Cr-_

"It's okay. You're just expressing your opinion. No rule against that. Though I must admit, you did get a little carried away."

He was smiling. _He's so sweet when he smiles _she thought. "Yeah." She agreed with a smile in return. _And he didn't get mad!_

_Then again, that's just her, isn't it? She tends to get a little carried away at times. _Arnold thought. He wanted to tell her, so much that he couldn't think straight on anything else. He looked at her. _She's so beautiful _he thought. _Beautiful smile. Beautiful eyes if you take away the unibrow. Beautiful, shimmering blonde hair I'm sure would look even more beautiful if she let it down..._

He began to hear her voice speaking to him. "Arnold? Uh, Arnold? Arnold, what are you doing? Arnold, snap out of it!"

"Huh? What?" He then noticed his hands. They were reaching for her hair! How did his hands get up there? Almost immediately, he put his hands down and blushed a little. "S-Sorry. I was, uh, lost in my th-thoughts. Sorry." _What the heck. I'm going for it. _"Helga?"

"Yeah?" She said curiously.

_Okay. Here goes. _Arnold took a deep breath in and out. Then he took in another breath. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words. Then he finally found his voice. "I, I," He kept stuttering. "You..?" She attemped to help him speak. He looked into her eyes. Then he let out a sigh. "Nothing." He said shaking his head.

Then he decided to change the subject. "I actually kinda agree with you." He said.

"You do?" She asked, curious as to what he meant.

"The way I see it, there's no good reason for them to designate something to each state. It just seems like a waste of their time."

"I know!" She replied, suddenly into the topic. "And look at this. 'State soil: Kalkaska.' Isn't that just rediculous? State soil. 'Hey, look! Instead of doing some actually useful research, I'm gonna waste all my time finding common things in this specific state, just so they can say, 'This is our state tree! This is our state rock! This is our state bird! This is our state wildflower! Now you know everything about our state! Let's celebrate!''" Arnold just cracked up. "''Oh, I know! Let's have an entire day dedicated to our state! Let's throw a parade! It'll attract tons and tons of tourists! We'll be rich in no time!''" Arnold laughed even harder. "Stop! Stop! Hahahaha! I can't breathe! Hahahaha! It hurts! Haha!" He nearly had to wipe a tear.

Helga started laughing too. _She has such a sweet laugh _Arnold thought. Because it was a sweet laugh. It wasn't her usual laugh used for mockery. It was an actual, honest laugh. And it sounded beautiful. He had never heard her laugh like that before. _Even her voice is beautiful _he thought. _I love her so much._

Finally, they calmed down and stopped laughing. "Wow, Helga." Arnold said. "You have a deep sense of opinion."

"You think so?" Helga replied.

"Yeah. I mean, you think about things in a way that I never would have thought before. You're very smart."

"Well, thanks. You're not so bad yourself."

"You also have a good sense of humor."

"Really?"

"At times. You have your moments."

"Well, I wish I could say the same for you. I don't think I've ever heard you tell a joke."

"Oh, really? Well maybe I'll tell one now." Arnold leaned forward.

"Well, go ahead. I'd love to hear it." Helga leaned forward.

"I bet you would." Arnold leaned forward some more.

"Make me laugh." Helga leaned forward some more.

"I will." Arnold leaned forward even more.

Suddenly, their noses were almost touching. They could feel each other's breath on their own lips. They leaned in slowly. Their eyelids closed slowly. Their lips met, but ever so softly. It was gentile and tender. _This is happening to me! This is actually happening to me! _She kept thinking. _Oh, his lips are so warm and soft!_

They released, and they slowly opened their eyes. "Arnold, what are we doing?" Helga asked softly.

"I-I'm not sure." He replied in a gentle tone.

She looked into his eyes. Then she snapped out of her dream-like state and looked at her feet, then the watch on her wrist. "Oh, wow. It's getting late. I'd, better go."

Arnold snapped out of his dream-like state then and said, "Oh, yeah. Okay."

Helga got up and began to pack up her stuff into her book bag. Then she pulled the strap over her head to her shoulder. "We'll work on it some more tomarrow, okay Arnold?"

"Yeah, tomarrow. That sounds good. Same time?"

Helga looked back as she opened his bedroom door. "Same time." She stepped out. "See you tomarrow, Arnold."

He waved back. "See you tomarrow."

Helga closed the door and made her way down the stairs and out the front door. When she was far enough away from the boarding house, she began to think aloud to himself. She sighed. "Oh, Arnold. Why do you delay your confession? Don't you know that it's torturing us both? Oh, Arnold. My love. With that football shaped head of yours. How you prolong it so. Only my love for you gives me the strength to wait."

Then she looked down at the sidewalk she stood on and smiled. Then she ran down the sidewalk and jumped for joy as she said, "He kissed me! He actually kissed me! Laa, la la laa! Ha ha!"

**Well, what do you think? You're all giddy now, huh? Aren't ya? Aren't ya? Tee hee. I'm a tease.**

**By the way, I'm still looking for anyone who has any ideas for some new random words. Anyone? Hello? Does anyone even pay attention to these messages? Hello? Come on, guys. I know you're smart. You can come up with something.**

**This chapter isn't the only reason why I'm excited! You wanna guess? Come on! Try and guess! I'll give you a hint: it has something to do with school. There! That's all I'm giving you! Now, guess! Guess like your life depends on it! Mwahahaha!**

**And now, without further a do, I present to you, all those who reviewed my last chapter!**

**-Anonymous Latina**

**-MidniteRaine**

**-acosta perez jose ramiro**

**-Knowledge-comes-Wisdom-lingers**

**Thanks a whole bunch! It really means a lot!**

**That's it for now. So, until next time...**

**REVIEW!**


	12. Family Quarrels and His Gut Feeling

**Hiya everyone! How's it going? I'm doing fine. I hope you like the... wow, it's the twelfth chapter already? Wow. Don't worry, because there's still a lot more to come. And I mean a LOT. I am very excited about this story, and frankly, I'm actually starting to get antsy. I wanna finish it already! I haven't even finished it's written version out yet. STILL! Isn't that just insane?**

**The random word of the chapter is...blinking bananas!**

**Please send me some new random words to use. I'm pulling things from what I see combined with what I think about, and it's starting to get annoying.**

**Disclaimer: Don't make me say it! (Sighs in frustration) I do not own Hey Arnold, nor am I torturing anybody.**

**Enjoy!**

She opened the door and heard her father cry, "Olga! You're late for dinner!"

Almost instantly when she walked in the door, a scowl played on her face. "It's Helga, dad! When are you gonna stop calling me Olga?"

"If you would wear a nametag, we wouldn't keep running into this problem! Where have you been anyway?" Bob said.

Helga then sighed with happiness from memory of what had happened at Arnold's place. "I was over at Arnold's house working on the state project." She said gleefully.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to your little schoolmate's house to work on a project?"

Helga became irritated. "I did tell you, Bob, when I got home from school and again when I left. You never listen!"

"You don't listen to me either!"

"Yes I do! You always blabber on about Olga and how perfect of a daughter she is and how I should be more like Olga! 'Olga' this! 'Olga' that! It's driving me nuts!"

"Excuse me?"

At this point, she was yelling at her father. "Oh, and let's not forget the spelling bee! 'When Olga was up there, she nailed it with that 'l'!' The same lecture, over and over! 'This is how Olga won the spelling bee!' And guess what? I saw the crumpled up check you tried to bribe Arnold with. You didn't even believe in me! You care more about winning, and your stupid beeper imporium, than you do about me! The spelling bee! The parents day games!" She began listing things off.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! That little orphan boy was asking for it!"

"Don't call him that! Even I knew that was going too far! And I've been teasing him for years! Let's face it; when it comes to contests, you'll do anything to win!"

"Now, hold on, little lady!"

"Oh, I'm not done. You've been practically worshiping the ground Olga walks on! And you haven't been giving me so much as a sideways glancesince I was three! _Three! _What kind of a father neglects his youngest daughter at age three?" By this time, tears were welling up in Helga's eyes. "You never paid any attention to me! You never seemed to care! And when you do actually try, it's because we're in some father-daughter contest and you want to make sure that I try my hardest so you can have another gold medal or trophy in your Olga collection! I'm actually ashamed to call you my dad! Excuse me!"

Tears stinging her eyes, Helga pushed her father aside and ran up the stairs to her room. She slammed her door behind her and crashed into her bed. "It's not fair! It's not fair!" She screamed into her pillow. "Why am _I _the one stuck with the worst parents in the history of bad parents? He never pays me any attention! He never listens to me! And Miriam's no better! She's always forgetful! Never, _ever_ packs my lunch right! And she drinks so many smoothies! What is up with those things anyway? She drinks them all the time!" She kept punching her pillow out of anger. "I'll bet they wouldn't notice if I left!"

Just then, she got up and went to her closet. She pulled back her curtains of clothing and kneeled before her Arnold shrine.

"I'm so sorry Arnold." She whispered, her head hanging from her shoulders as a tear falls from her cheek. Then she tore a sheet out of the back of her notebook, took out her pen, and began to write.

* * *

The next day, Arnold was walking to the bus stop. He couldn't stop thinking about Helga. How all this happened so fast. Her confession. Their newfound friendship. His love for her. All in just a couple weeks. It's amazing.

The bus door swung open and Arnold stepped on and made his way to the seat next to Gerald.

"Hey Arnold." Gerald greeted.

"Hi Gerald." Arnold replied.

"So, did you and Helga get anything done last night on the project?"

Arnold blushed at the memory. "Hardly. We kept chatting off topic. She even made a joke about the state soil and-oh, you should have heard her laugh. It was-"

"Her laugh?" Gerald interrupted, "Arnold, I have heard Helga laugh plenty of times at your expense. Why would I want to hear it again?"

"Because it was different this time, Gerald. It sounded...real. And it was beautiful."

"Arnold, are you trying to make me sick?"

"Sorry Gerald. I just can't stop thinking about her."

"Did you tell her?"

Arnold sighed. "No."

"Why not?"

"I just, couldn't tell her. I don't know what happened. I guess I mentally choked."

"You gotta tell her today, Arnold."

"I know."

When the bus stopped at the school, Arnold noticed something. It seemed strange. When everyone got off, Arnold looked for Phoebe.

"Hey Phoebe?" He said.

"Yes Arnold?" She replied.

"Do you know where Helga is? She wasn't on the bus this morning."

Phoebe suddenly seemed a little nurvous. "Uh, no, Arnold. I haven't seen or heard from her since yesterday. Why do you ask?"

"Just something I noticed, I guess. Thanks."

"No problem Arnold."

They all headed to class with all the other students. The bell rang and Mr. Simmons walked in. He quickly scanned the class.

"Does anyone know where Curly is?" He said.

Sid raised his hand. "Yes Sid?"

"I think he's absent again today."

"Thank you Sid." Mr. Simmons looked down at his board and made a mark on it. Then he looked back up.

"And does anyone know where Helga is today?"

"She wasn't on the bus this morning." Arnold said.

"I'll just mark her down then." He made another mark on his clipboard.

"Okay. Well, good morning class. First, I'd like everyone to take out their school journals and fill at least a page with thoughts. Now, I want you to be as descriptive as possible. Remember, no one will see your writing but me, so be honest."

Everyone took out their notebooks and started writing. When they were done, everyone handed up their notebooks. The lunch bell rang.

"Gerald, I just can't stop thinking about her." Arnold said as they moved through the line.

"I know, I know, Arnold. I get it. You love her."

They picked their trays up and walked to their table.

"It's not just that. I just, can't help but think that something's happened to her. Like she's in danger or something. And I can't shake the feeling."

"Stop worrying, Arnold. I'm sure she's just, I don't know, visiting a sick relative or something. There's nothing to worry about."

"I sure hope you're right, Gerald." Arnold said with a sigh.

Meanwhile, Phoebe was sitting alone at her table, eating and observing Arnold. "Oh, I sure hope Helga's doing okay back home." Phoebe said to herself.

**Ooh, what's gonna happen next? Tell me what you think!**

**Thanks to all who reviewed my last chapter:**

**-Anonymous Latina**

**-acosta perez jose ramiro**

**Thank you so much! It means so much to me!**

**Well, that's about it. You know what comes next.**

**REVIEW!**


	13. What Happened to Helga?

**Hi everybody! How's it goin'?**

**I'm not up to much of anything. My great aunt is supposed to be coming up from Chicago to visit today. She's cool. Well, I think so anyway. I don't know what other people think of her. Oh, well.**

**The random word of the chapter is...Purple Flying Cow!**

**Give a thanks to Anonymous Latina for that one! She came up with it! Told you I give credit for all that is not mine. Keep em' coming people! I want more!**

**Disclaimer: More credit for something not mine. I do not own Hey Arnold. I'm sick and tired of saying it. So much so that I'm thinking of somehow earning truckloads of money so I can buy it off of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett and not have to use this disclaimer anymore! Then I remind myself that I don't have a plan for earning the money and I'm too young to get a job without being signed off by my parents first anyway.**

**Enjoy!**

Helga was laying around in Phoebe's room, staring at the ceiling out of boredom. "Man, I never realized how long the school day was. I'm gonna die of boredom before she even gets home!"

She suddenly heard a growl in the room. She felt a knot in her stomach and put her hand to it. "That is if I don't die of starvation first. I'm hungry. Must be lunchtime. Let's go see what Phoebe has here." She then carefully made her way downstairs into the kitchen.

When she opened the fridge, there was a slight creak. "Shh! You stupid fridge!" She whispered harshly. It was quiet the rest of the way open. "Hmm, let's see. Noodles, noodles, rice, rice, noodles, wild rice...ooh! Sweet and sour chicken! Now that's more like it." Helga then pulled out the container labeled 'Sweet n' Sour chicken' and closed the door. Then she got out a disposable fork and sat down at the table, er, dining mat. _Mmm, looks delicious _she thought as she opened the box.

As she was about to take her first bite, she heard a noise coming from outside. It sounded like a car pulling into the garage. The engine turned off, a car door closed, and high heeled footsteps clacked against the pavement as the person made their way closer, walking up the sidewalk. _Oh, no! What do I do? Where do I hide? Gotta go back upstairs. Can't bring food up there. But I'm so hungry!_

She turned her head back and forth between the stairs and the chicken, unable to decide what to do. The footsteps are closer now. Helga is standing now, scrambling for the stairs as she leaves the opened box of chicken and the fork behind. The footsteps suddenly stop. Helga paused and listened for a brief moment, at the bottom of the staircase. She heard jingling keys, just outside the kitchen door. She scrambled up the stairs to Phoebe's room and manages to close the door behind her just as the person opened the door into the kitchen.

Helga put her ear up against the bedroom door and listened, hoping, _Please don't come up here. Please don't come up here._

"Hello? Is someone home?" _That sounded like her mom. What's Phoebe's mom doing here? Shouldn't she be at work?_ "I heard a door close." _Oh great. Busted._ "I came home to get my lunch." _So that's why she's home so early._ "Hello? Huh. I thought I heard someone up there."_ Yes! Yes! Your mind is playing tricks on you! Good! I'm in the clear!_ "Ooh! sweet and sour chicken! Don't mind if I do." _My chicken! She took my chicken! Now what am I gonna eat? Guess I'll have to wait til' Phoebe get's home. _Helga then slumped to the floor in over all relief as she waited for Phoebe's mom to finish up and leave.

* * *

When everyone was done with lunch and in their seats, Mr. Simmons stood in front of the class. "Okay. I hope everyone enjoyed their lunch. Now, I would like everyone to get with their partners and continue to work on your projects. Arnold, may I speak with you in the hall?"

Harold then called out, "Arnold's in trouble! Ah ha ha ha!" in his usual obnoxious tone.

"Uh, sure, Mr. Simmons." Arnold said as he stood from his seat, ignoring Harold.

When they were in the hallway and the door was closed, Arnold asked, "So, what is it you wanna talk to me about, Mr. Simmons?"

"Well, Arnold, as I was looking through your journals over lunch, I noticed you mentioned much concern for Helga. Are you okay?"

Arnold suddenly felt a little embarassed. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine, Mr. Simmons. I just, worry about her."

"Well, Arnold, I have my share of concern for Helga too."

He noticed Arnold looking down at the floor. Then he kneeled down, put his hand on Arnold's shoulder, and said, "If you're really that worried about her, I, guess I can let you go early to check up on her. How does that sound?"

Arnold's face suddenly lit up as he looked up to Mr. Simmons. "Oh, really? Gee, thanks, Mr. Simmons!" He then ran down the hall to his locker as Mr. Simmons walked back into the classroom. Arnold quickly packed his things and headed for Helga's house.

* * *

He walked up to the top of the stoop and knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. "Hello? Is anyone home?" He hollered. No answer. He opened the door.

He saw Helga's mom on the phone, her dad in camoflauge army gear, and her sister coming down the stairs with a stack of flyers, some flying out of the stack. The mom wore a frightened expression on her face, he didn't know what expression the dad was wearing on his face, and Olga was on the verge of crying. It was chaos.

He somehow had the courage to speak through it. "Hi. I came to check up on Helga."

Everyone suddenly noticed the blond boy standing in the doorway and paused to hear more.

"She didn't show up at school today, so I thought she might be sick. Is she okay? What's going on?"

As Olga put the flyers down and went back upstairs, Big Bob walked up to him, kneeled down to his level, and said, "Have you seen her?"

"Not since yesterday. Why?"

Bob stood to his feet. Then Miriam said, "Well, neither have we. We don't know where she is."

Olga interrupted as she came back down. "I found this on her nightstand." She said. She handed it to Bob and Miriam and they read it to themselves. When they finished, they handed it to Olga to read as they huddled together and sobbed quietly. When Olga finished reading it, she joined her parents in the hugging and crying.

Finallly, Arnold spoke up. "What's it say?"

Olga handed him the note. "She left." She said softly between sobs.

"What?" Arnold said as he yanked the note free from her hand. He read the note to himself as the rest were crying.

_Family,_

_I'm not sure how to say this, so I'll just say it. I ran away. Don't come looking for me. I can't take another day of living with two parents who never seemed to care. Miriam, you're still a lousy mom, and I can't keep living off of pork grinds, saltines, and shaving cream the rest of my childhood. Bob, you're not even a dad to me. Olga, I love you, but you're too perfect for them to give me any attention. I don't know if I'll be coming back. Please tell Arnold that I still love him, and I'm sorry. I just can't take anymore hurt._

_Goodbye for now,_

_Helga_

**What's gonna happen next? Where will Arnold go from here? What will happen to Helga? Will Arnold ever find her? Will the Pataki family ever get their youngest back? Will Helga ever return to her family? Will I ever stop asking questions like this is a comic book episode? Find out in the next chapter of How Do You Feel!**

**Thank you to all who reviewed last chapter!**

**-Safira Montenegro x**

**-Anonymous Latina**

**-acosta perez jose ramiro**

**-Champion of Justice**

**Thanks guys! You rock! Much thanks and appreciation.**

**Well, that's about it. You know what that means!**

**REVIEW!**


	14. Pep Talk Times Two

**Hello peoples!**

**Summer vacation is definately on for me (finaly!). Thank goodness I'm done with su-, su-, sum-, S.S. Man, it's over with, and I still can't say it! Grr! Try and guess what it is I'm struggling to say, cause I'm not gonna say it any time soon on my own. Come on, guess!**

**The random word of the chapter is...Flying Pencil Mouth!**

**That was awkward. Anywho, I don't have much else to say.**

**Disclaimer: Again? Ugh. This is becoming one of those warning labels you see at the beginning of rented movies. I DO NOT OWN HEY ARNOLD!**

**Enjoy!**

By the time he finished reading the note, his eyes were brimming with tears. He ran out the door and all the way home, note tightly clenched in one hand, tears streaming down his face. He ran inside, passing Phil without stopping.

"Hey, shortman! What are you doing home so..."

"...early?"

Arnold ran so fast, Phil couldn't even finish his sentence in time.

Arnold ran all the way up to his room and practically slammed his door. Then he curled up in a ball as he sat sat on his bed and hung his head above his knees, wiping the tears from his face with his free arm. More tears fell. Then Phil walked in.

"Hey Arnold. Are you okay? You ran past me pretty fast."

Then he saw the tears on Arnold's cheeks as he lifted his head up. "What's wrong Arnold? What happened?"

Arnold dried his tears ith his arm again and said, "She's gone. She left."

Phil was confused. "Who's gone? What are you talking about, Arnold?" He said suddenly.

"Helga's gone. Helga left." Arnold said with a little more desperation than before.

Phil sat down on a stool. "Now, where does it say that?" He said.

Arnold handed him the note. "Her sister found this on her nightstand." He sobbed.

Phil took the note and read it silently, repeating a few of the words here and there. "...ran away...never seemed to care...pork rinds, saltines, and shaving cream? Holy canoly!"

"Grandpa!"

"What? I'm simply stating how impressed I am at the fact that she's survived on just pork rinds, saltines, and shaving cream her whole life. Shaving cream isn't even a food! I tell ya Arnold; this is probably the second toughest girl you'll ever know. The first being your grandma, of course."

"Finish the note!"

Phil briefly put up his hand in defense. "Okay, okay. ...not even a dad...too perfect...coming back...Helga. Hmm...wait a minute! Helga? The girl with the one eyebrow? Why would you care about her? I mean, she's been teasing you for how long now?"

"Grandpa, she's changed. She's been nice to everyone at school for the past few weeks, and she apologized to everyone, including me."

"And what's this? 'Please tell Arnold that I still love him.' She loves you? I thought you said she hated you!"

"I thought she did at first, but then I started to look back, and something didn't seem to add up. So I talked to her about it, and she said she loved me. She said she loved me since we were three."

"Three? Well, now. That's a pretty young age to fall in love, don't you think Arnold?" Then Phil started laughing. "Ah, just kidding." Phil then noticed the sad look on Arnold's face again. "So, you really care about this girl, huh?" He said in his genuine tone.

"Yeah." Arnold said, looking down at his knees.

"You should give her family a call. See if you can help with putting up lookout posters."

Arnold looked back up. "Yeah. Thanks grandpa."

"Anytime, shortman."

Then Phil got up and left the room. Then Arnold stood from his bed, picked up his phone, and dialed for Helga's house. It gave three rings, then it picked up.

"Hello?" Said a woman's voice on the other end.

"Mrs. Pataki? It's Arnold."

"Arnold! We were so worried! We thought you ran away! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, can I help with those flyers?"

"Sure. Come on over. We'll give you a stack to put up."

"Thanks Mrs. Pataki. I'll be right over. See you in a few. Bye." Then he hung up his phone.

* * *

Gerald and Phoebe sat next to each other on the bus ride home, since neither Arnold nor Helga were there to sit next to.

"Man, I sure hope Arnold's okay. He's been worried about Helga til' lunch. Then he was dismissed early."

"I hope so too. I am a bit worried about Helga too, actually."

"Oh, I'm sure she's just fine. She's tough. She can take care of herself, wherever she is."

Phoebe gave a small sigh. "I sure hope you're right, Gerald."

The bus stopped at their stop and they got off. "So, you wanna do something later?" Gerald said.

Phoebe giggled. "Sure." She said with a slight blush.

Her blush dissappeared as she noticed something. "But, I think you need to stop by Arnold's place first." She pointed to the wall behind him. "Look."

Gerald turned around and saw a flyer taped up on the wall with a picture of Helga in the center. Below the picture, it read:

**Have you seen me?**

**Name: Helga G. Pataki**

**Last seen wearing a pink dress, a pink bow in her hair, and pigtails (what she's wearing in the picture)**

**If found, please call the following number.**

Then a phone number followed. Gerald turned and saw them posted in front of every store and building he could see. On light posts, on walls with graffitti, on chain link fences, and more.

"Uh oh. This can't be good. I'll go see how Arnold is doing."

"I'd go with you, but, I gotta be home as soon as possible."

"Okay. See ya."

"Bye."

Gerald headed to Arnold's house while Phoebe headed to her own place.

* * *

Gerald knocked on the door.

"Yes? Oh, uh, Arnold is a bit, preoccupied right now. Can you come back later?" Phil was at the door.

"I saw the flyers. I came over to check on Arnold. Is he home?" Gerald said.

Phil scratched his head. "Oh, that's right. You're his friend. Yeah, he's home. Go on up."

Gerald headed to the stairs.

"Oh, but, he's really upset, so be careful." Phil added.

"Sure thing."

Then he continued up the stairs. He opened Arnold's door slowly. "Hey Arnold." he said.

Arnold sniffled. "Oh, hey Gerald."

He causiously stepped inside. "How are you? Are you okay?"

Arnold suddenly burst out. "No! I'm not okay, Gerald! Helga is missing!"

"I know. I know. I saw the fliers."

"But the worst part is, she ran away."

Gerald was taken by surprise. "What? She ran away? How would you know that?"

Arnold handed him the note. "Olga found it on her nightstand."

Gerald took the note from his hand and read it silently. Then his eyes widened. "Whoa. I had no idea how hard her life was. No wonder she ran away."

"But Gerald! She's lived through neglect for years. Why would she decide to leave now? It makes no sense."

"Maybe she just finally snapped."

"No. She's too strong for that."

"Maybe she and her family had a big fight?"

"That's it, Gerald! It must be it!"

"I don't know, Arnold."

"But you just said-"

"I was just giving a suggestion! Just something off the top of my head. Maybe you should call her parents, ask if anything happened. There's not much I can tell you, Arnold. Helga's strong. You said it yourself. She'll be okay." He turned back to the door. "I gotta go, Arnold."

"Bye Gerald."

"Bye Arnold."

Gerald opened the door.

"Oh, and Gerald?"

He paused and turned his head.

"Thanks."

Gerald smiled. "No problem, Arnold." Then he closed the door behind him.

Okay. So that made Arnold feel a little better. Helga's strong. Helga's smart. Wherever she is right now, she can take care of herself. But today was the day he was going to tell her. Why did she have to leave now? He was going to think about her nonstop until she comes back. He won't stop searching for her until she is found. He couldn't stand the thought of living without her. He had to find her. But where to look? He had no idea where to start. He just had to hope that someone would call saying that they found her and he could come rushing to her side, wherever she was.

But what can he do til' then? He's not gonna lay around all day waiting for a call to tell him 'Hey! I found her! Come quick!'. He already helped with putting up posters. What else could he do? Then he got an idea.

He got up and picked up the phone. Three rings.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Pataki? It's Arnold. Has anyone formed a search party yet?"

"We're working on it. Why? Would you like to help?"

"Yes, I would. I want to help search for Helga."

"Okay. Bob is out searching for more helpers. In the mean time, you can go out searching by yourself."

"Where should I start looking?"

"Let me think..."

**Yay! Arnold is going to search for Helga! Will he find her though? OoOoOoOoh! You know. Like how a ghost would do it. That makes me laugh! I don't like the fact that I fell down the stairs today though. Not from the top, but I landed on my butt and hurt my tailbone. I was in pain for three hours. No doctor needed. I slipped. New socks are always slippery on the carpeted staircase. I'm fine now, though. Yay for pain only! No detectable damage! Okay, that's enough talk about me falling down;**** I'm starting to laugh a bit too long about it.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed for my last chapter!**

**-acosta perez jose ramiro**

**-Anonymous Latina**

**Thanks guys! You have been really faithful throughout this story.**

**Not much else to say, so...**

**REVIEW!**


	15. Search party

**Hey everybody! Did you miss me?**

**Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I've been busy. Plus, this is a long chapter, so that took some time.**

**The random word of the chapter is...Fan of hammers!**

**I got that off of iCarly. Spencer actually made a fan out of hammers! One of them almost launched itself into Carly's head! Yikes!**

**Anywho. Yep. Anywho. I felt like saying that.**

**Disclaimer: Do I even have to say it anymore? I think you guys get the point.**

**Enjoy!**

The next day, everyone was in their seats. The bell rang as Mr. Simmons walked in and started the day.

"Good morning class. I see that Curly is absent again today. Now, where is Helga?"

Gerald raised his hand. "She's not here today, Mr. Simmons." He said.

"Okay. Do you know where Arnold is, Gerald?"

"He joined a search party, so he's not coming to school today."

"Search party? For who? Do you know?"

"They're searching for Helga. She went missing yesterday."

There were whispers of conversation throughout the classroom.

"I know you may find this alarming, but I'm sure the search party will find her. Now Gerald, is there anything else you know about this?"

"Like what?"

"Like how she went missing, for instance, any information on that?" A classmate said.

"All I know is that her family found a note left on her nightstand yesterday. I'm sorry, but, that's all I got."

"What did it say?" Another classmate asked.

Gerald shrugged. "Beats me."

"Settle down class. Let's focus back on today. Now, I want everyone to-"

"But Mr. Simmons, what if Helga's in trouble right now? Shouldn't we be doing something?" A kid interrupted.

"I'm sure the search party will find her as soon as they can." Mr. Simmons responded.

"But what if they don't get to her in time?" The kid countered.

"Yeah, we need to do something. We can't just leave her out there all alone." Another kid added, standing up from his seat.

"Yeah. She's been nice to us for the past few weeks. It seems to me like she's actually been trying." Yet another kid stood from his seat.

Then Phoebe stood. "I must concur; she has been working really hard to be nice to everyone for a change. I've been helping her to change her ways. Her training has been very effective."

"Come on! We have to go help her!" Still another kid stood from her seat.

Then more kids stood up. "Yeah!" They all called out in unison.

"I say we go out and look for her! Who's with me?" The first kid hollered.

Just about the entire class was standing and several were heading to the door. "Yeah!" The kids called out, putting their fists in the air.

"Students! Class is still in session! I have not dissmissed you yet! Get back in your seats!" Mr. Simmons announced.

Gerald put his hand on Mr. Simmons's shoulder. "Come on, Mr. Simmons. Let 'em go. Arnold needs all the help he can get."

"Then why didn't you stay to help him?" Mr. Simmons asked.

"Because I'm his best friend. My job is to talk with him and keep him level-headed, not look for some runaway for him. He needs to search for her without me. I _have_ to be emotional support. They don't _have_ to do anything. They _want_ to help search for her. So come on. Let 'em search for her. Besides, this is a good chance for them to work together to get something done."

Mr. Simmons hesitated. "Hmm...okay. Go search for Helga. But stay in town."

Then Gerald stood on Mr. Simmons's desk. "Alright, you heard him. Let's go and bring Helga back!" He announced. Everyone then headed toward the door. Then Mr. Simmons hollered after them, "And be back by lunch!"

* * *

Arnold kept walking along the sidewalk, trying to keep his head up, hoping to see Helga come running home. But his heaad kept dropping low, heavy with concern and regret, wishing Helga was right there so he could tell her how he really felt. He couldn't believe no one volunteered to help look yet. _Don't they care at all? _He kept thinking. Then he sighed. _Maybe I should have gone to school after all._

Arnold turned the corner and ran into someone running, causing him and the other person to fall over.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you turning the corner." Arnold said as he rubbed his head.

"No, it's my fault, man. I shouldn't have been running."

Arnold then went wide-eyed as he sat up. "Gerald?"

"Hey Arnold. Good to see you." Gerald said as he sat up.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in school with the other kids." Arnold said as they helped each other up.

"Mr. Simmons let us out early. Has anyone found Helga yet?"

"It's only the first official day of search, Gerald. Did you really expect me to find her in half the morning?"

Gerald hesitated. "I guess not. Where's the rest of the search party?" He said looking around, expecting to see more people.

"I am the search party."

"Oh. Got no help, huh?"

"Nope." Arnold said, looking at his feet.

"Would you like some?"

"You mean you'll help me search?" Arnold said, suddenly looking hopeful.

Gerald smiled. "Even better."

Gerald whistled a signal through his two fingers. Then a bunch of kids appeared from behind buildings, alleys, mailboxes, fences, trashcans, and various other knooks and crannies and came together, forming an entire group in the street.

"Whoah. The whole class must be here." Arnold said in awe.

"The class? Try the entire fourth grade."

"How did you convince them to come help?" Arnold was slightly baffled now.

"I didn't. They came on their own. I just tagged along to find you."

Then came a short pause. "We're here to search. Just tell us where to go, and we'll get started." Gerald stated with his hands on his hips. Then he gave Arnold a smile.

Arnold smiled back with a nod. "Alright. I want you all to separate into two teams. Team A; you search uptown. Team B; you search downtown. I want everyone to do the best they can in this effort. Go door to door, look in alleys, dumpsters, the sewers if you have to. I want you to show teamwork when and where nessassary. Look in every knook and cranny you think she can fit. Then I want everyone to meet back at Gerald Field in two hours. We're in this as a team. If we wanna find Helga, we're gonna have to put as much group effort in as we can. If we can do this, we can do anything. Can we do this?"

"Yeah!" Everyone yelled out.

"Then let's go find Helga!"

"Yeah!" Everyone then started splitting into two groups and heading where directed.

"Gerald, go with team B, take your walkie-talkie and report back to me in an hour on their progress."

Gerald saluted Arnold. "Yes sir!" Then he headed downtown with his team.

"Phoebe!" Arnold called.

"Yes Arnold?" She replied weakly.

"Come with me. I would like to talk to you. You're gonna be my special assistant in this operation."

"Uh, okay." She then walked with Arnold nervously, hoping he didn't notice the look on her face.

* * *

Helga had her little pink book out as she continued to write of her sole insperation.

Check that. She had her private journal out and she was writing about her thoughts for today (Who knew?).

_Day Two: Phoebe's house_

_Dear Diary,_

_So far, it's been boring. I miss Arnold so much. I wish I could see his football shaped head topped with those wild, golden locks of his. But I just can't stand in the same house as those neglectful, self-centered jerks I once called my parents ever again._

_My time in this room so far has gotten pretty boring. It's only been two days and already I'm almost out of ideas! What Am I supposed to do in a Japanese girl's bedroom, er, matroom all day? Yoga? I mean, seriously! Who sleeps on a-_

Suddenly, Helga heard someone yell her name. Helga bookmarked her journal and set it down. Then she made her way to the opened window and looked outside. She saw some kids walking down the street, hollering her name to the heavens. "Helga!" One hollered. "Helga, where are you?" Shouted another. She spotted several kids going door to door with a stack of flyers, all with her face on them. "What is going on?" Helga said to herself.

Then she looked around and spotted someone at the door. No, two someones at the door. One was talking while the other one was unlocking the door. Helga looked closer. _That's Phoebe unlocking the door. Why is she home so early?_ Then she saw the kid talking to her. _Arnold! What is he doing here?_ Helga then locked her eyes on Arnold. She watched his hair, his eyes, his lips. As she tried to decode what he was saying to Phoebe, he looked up for a moment and locked eyes with her, eyes widening as he realized who he saw through the window. Helga jumped and sank to the floor. _Oh no! He saw me!_ Then she heard him begin to speak. _Wait, what is he saying?_ Helga sat quietly then as she listened to what Arnold had begun to say.

"Uh, Phoebe?"

"Yes, Arnold?"

"Is anyone normally home around this time?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"...I thought I saw someone in your window just now."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It looked like Helga."

"Well, I don't see anything except the curtains."

"I could have sworn I saw her looking straight at me."

"I think your mind is playing tricks on you, Arnold. You must miss her terribly."

"...Y-yeah. I guess you're right."

Then Helga heard the front door open downstairs. She cracked the door open so she could listen.

"You wait here Arnold. I just gotta grab a few things and I'll be right down."

"Okay Phoebe."

Then came some footsteps on the staircase. Helga closed the door gently and backed away from the door. The Phoebe walked in.

"Phoebe! What's going on? Why is there a bunch of kids shouting my name in the streets so early? Why are you home? And why is Arnold with you?"

"Well, we were let out early so we could help look for you. Arnold has asked me to assist him."

"Wait, everyone's searching for me?"

"Yes Helga. I guess they're all very worried about you. Really worried, considering the entire fourth grade was let out."

"So let me get this straight; the entire fourth grade was let out early so they can go up and down streets searching for me?"

"Yes Helga. It's really quite remarkable. The entire fourth grade banding together in search for one classmate. Very inspired."

"There is no way they are searching for me. I'm Helga G. Pataki, for crying out loud! I made their lives miserable for years!"

"I guess they forgot about it Helga."

"So you're saying that after years of my causing them misery, they forget about it all just because I was nice for what, the last two, three weeks?"

"Our classmates can be very forgiving sometimes. I guess your kindness really meant a lot to them."

"Hmph. I don't buy it." Helga crossed her arms and turned her head.

"If their running up and down the streets of the city, shouting your name isn't enough proof for you, then I don't know what is."

"Wait. You didn't bring him here so you can turn me in, did you?"

Phoebe crossed the room. "No Helga. I just came to get my flashlight and my notes. I gotta go Helga. We have to be back at school by lunchtime."

Helga sighed heavily. "Alright. See ya Phoebs."

"Bye Helga. See you when I get home."

Then Phoebe walked out and closed the door. Helga carefully opened it a crack to listen.

"You ready, Phoebe?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go."

Then Helga heard the front door close. She sat back in the beanbag chair and continued to write in her journal.

_Phoebe just told me that the entire fourth grade is looking for me. Me! I don't believe it. I've been mean to them for too long for them to just forgive me because of two weeks of nice me wandering the halls! Oh, I miss Arnold. I miss hanging out with him because of our new friendship. I wonder if he likes me-likes me. Oh, if only that were true! What I wouldn't give for him to love me as I love him! Due to my recent actions, all I can do is hope._

_Helga_

**So tell me what you think! Please!**

**A thanks to all of those who reviewed the last chapter.**

**-acosta perez jose ramiro**

**-Lizzy4eva**

**-Anonymous Latina**

**-Bunny7433**

**Thanks so much you guys! It means a whole bunch to me that you care! (Sobbs)**

**No, seriously. You guys are awesome for it.**

**Well, I don't have much to say, so,**

**REVIEW!**


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